


Anthology of the Sun and Moon

by I_Dont_Like_I_Obsess



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Action/Adventure, Ancient magic, F/M, Gajevy - Freeform, Gale - Freeform, Humor, Magic, Post-Tartaros Arc (Fairy Tail), Pre-Alvarez Empire Arc (Fairy Tail), Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-11-24
Packaged: 2018-08-29 17:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 33,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8498218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Dont_Like_I_Obsess/pseuds/I_Dont_Like_I_Obsess
Summary: Hopelessness was not something Fairy Tail mages were used to feeling, Levy thought. But there wasn't much else going through her mind as she sat chained in the dark cell. Without Gajeel and Lily there, she was feeling more alone than ever. If only she hadn't come across that damned book, than perhaps they'd still be back in Magnolia, remaining blissfully ignorant...Gajevy.





	1. Chapter 1

   Perhaps she should have read the job description a little better when Jet and Droy had showed her the listing. Or, maybe she should have taken Mira's advice when she'd warned caution. Then maybe she wouldn't be in this situation to begin with. Of course, that was her own fault, really.

  _Stupid Levy_ , she thought, _you need to pay better attention next time._

   Of course, that self-criticism was quickly pushed to the back of her mind as another hail of seeker-magic-tipped arrows came whizzing towards them through the trees of the forest, courtesy of the rogue mage intent on halting their efforts to take care of the bandits terrorizing a local village.

   Despite Jet and Droy's best efforts to stop the mage's attacks, they had proved fruitless: he'd simply sent dozens of arrows aimed their way, cutting through Droy's plants and tracking Jet even while using his High Speed magic. The arrows flew unpredictable paths, causing more than a few problems for them. The Solid Script mage already had a few arrow wounds. One had grazed her torso, and another had impaled itself in her leg, but she'd had to rip it out to continue running, and blood seeped from the injury down her limb.

   Levy furiously scribbled in the air with her light pen, trying to put up a magic guard to protect the three of them as they ran from the incoming volley of projectiles. It was cutting it close, but in just the nick of time, she completed writing the word 'Guard,' and a transparent blue film surrounded the members of Shadow Gear, the arrows sticking fast into the barrier with loud thunks. It dissolved after a few moments, the arrows dropping harmlessly to the ground, but it had done it's job, and already Levy was beginning to write 'Bullet,' to try to go on the offensive for once.

   "I'll try to flank around the side and catch him by surprise!" Jet told her. She nodded without a word, too intent on finishing her magic spell to say much at all. Jet sped away, leaving her and Droy, who was growing winded at a rapid pace, to run through the trees away from the rogue mage.

   "Can't you do something with the trees around us?" Levy questioned harshly, speaking to her other partner, but still focused on her own magic. The word 'Bullet' materialized in the air and began to shoot projectiles back towards the mage in pursuit of them. Most of them hit the tree trunks nearby, like Levy knew it would, but it did it's job in forcing the mage to hesitate and duck behind a tree. The arrows stopped for a moment, just a moment, but it was enough for Droy, who finally seemed to realize that being surrounded by plant life worked to his advantage.

   "I have an idea." He called, pulling out a handful of seeds and tossing them to the ground further back. The seeds sunk into the earth, but nothing happened in the spot they landed.

   They heard the rustling of leaves, and the rogue mage stepped out into the open, a longbow knocked with another seeking arrow and aimed at them. Immediately the Solid Script mage began writing up a protective barrier again, but the mage laughed.

   "More of those fragile barriers? I wonder how long your word magic will hold up, little girl." He taunted. Levy frowned for a moment but cocked an eyebrow as she heard a low rumbling sound coming from the mage's direction. The man seemed equally confused, and paused in drawing back his arm. Levy finished working the barrier around them, and the blue film separated the bowman from them. The rumbling continued, then became a cracking sound as the earth beneath the man's feet.

   "Wha-?" He started. Thick roots began to wrap around the man's legs, and his eye's widened, turning to look at them. Although he was in a precarious situation, the mage fired off his arrow, piercing the barrier and shattering it. Levy brought up her light pen to erect another one, but saw the man had already knocked another arrow. This one wouldn't be fast enough, she realized with a sinking heart.

   "Enough!" The man shouted, raising the bow to aim at them. Something flashed from the trees, zooming across the open space. Jet, using his High Speed magic, snatched the bow from the man's hands, avoiding the quickly-growing tree roots that were now up to the mage's waist. Jet stopped a few feet away, tossing the weapon to the ground in triumphant, a pleased grin on his face.

   "Don't even think about hurting my team mates." He said, speeding over to join Levy and Droy at their side.

   "Gah! The rest of the group will stop you for sure!" He called, struggling against the binding force of the tree roots Droy had summoned from beneath the earth. He pushed and pulled at the roots, but they simply wrapped around him tighter and higher, until he had to raise up his chin to see them. "They'll ransack that village and slaughter all the-!"

   His voice was cut off the roots, and all Team Shadow Gear could hear after that was a bunch of muffled cursing.

   "We did it!" Jet and Droy high-fived, celebrating their victory against their opponent. Levy let out a long sigh, her breath coming out in heavy pants, falling onto her butt in exhaustion. She winced, once again feeling the pain of her leg wound. The adrenaline was beginning to wear out and she was being unhelpfully reminded that she had sustained a few injuries to the mage earlier in the fight.

   "Levy! Are you alright?" Jet asked, kneeling beside her in worry. Droy kept a watch on the rogue mage trapped in his magic, glancing with concern at their team leader.

   At Jet's question, she waved them off. "It's fine…let me rest a moment and then we can go take out the rest of the bandits." She squinted, trying to focus on Jet's face. Everything was blurry, and her head pounded something fierce. Was the sun always that bright? A wave of fuzziness swept over her limbs, the ends of her fingers and toes tingling. Her sensation of touch seemed hypersensitive.

   "A-alright. Here, I'll help you up." Jet offered her his hand, and she gratefully took it, hoisting her to her feet. Levy took off the yellow ribbon holding her hair in place, and leaned down to tie it around the bleeding arrow wound. The pain intensified when she tightened it, but at least she'd stop losing so much blood.

   Levy nodded and the three of them began walking back towards where the bandits were supposed to be located. They still had another mile or so to go. The bluenette tried hiding her weakened state, but after awhile of walking, the dots began to return to her eyes and she was feeling light headed. Without even realizing it, she'd stumbled to her knees, holding her head in her hands.

   "Levy…hey, look at me." Her orange-haired friend called, kneeling beside her and placing his hands on her cheeks. He saw her eyes were unfocused, shifting back and forth as she tried making out shapes and figures. Everything appear to be a blur.

   Her exhaustion seemed to worsen, and black dots began to appear at the edge of her vision, before clouding her sight completely, and she went limp in Jet's arms. The speedster panicked, holding her up in a sitting position.

   "Oi! Levy! Wake up!" He shouted, gently shaking her in an attempt to bring back her consciousness. "Levy!" Droy knelt beside them then, taking her wrist and checking her pulse.

   "We should get her back to the nearest village. She needs a doctor. I think she used too much magic against that guy, plus she's lost a lot of blood from her leg." He admitted, noticed the red streaks down her pale legs. The wound was covered by the yellow ribbon, which was quickly sporting an ever-growing red stain from her blood.

   "Come on, help me carry her!" Jet said, standing and lifting her limp body.

* * *

 

   To say that Gajeel Redfox was bored was a complete understatement.

   Somehow, even while sitting in the corner of the guildhall, he was bored out of his mind. It was surprisingly quiet. The flame brain and his bunny girl had gone on a mission together, taking that blue exceed with them. Juvia had managed to convince her 'one true love, ' that ice stripper Gray, to accompany her on a mission. Even Erza was away from Magnolia, requested by some faraway city to take care of a monster problem.

   That left him in the company of Cana, who was busy talking with Gildarts and trying to outmatch him in perhaps the fourth drinking contest that morning. He had arrived back in town a few days ago, and decided to stay, if only to catch up with his daughter. Mira was behind the bar, as usual, but even her sadistic attempts at gossiping and teasing her fellow guild mates seemed subdued. The others, even though they were all still family to him, he didn't really associate with unless absolutely necessary. Gajeel wasn't a blatantly friendly guy to begin with, and even less of a social butterfly.

   The iron dragon slayer sighed deeply, holding his head in his hand, leaning against the counter. Panther Lily nibbled at a few kiwis, sitting on the bar beside him. In response to Gajeel's audible boredom, Lily finished eating one of the fruits. "You know, we could always take a mission." the exceed supplied.

   "We ain't in need of money or anything. Besides, they all look just as boring." Gajeel bemoaned, staring grumpily into the wood of the counter. His hunger for iron wasn't helping his mood any, but that would mean having to go search some out. Or start eating the nails holding the support beams together, but he doubted he would survive Erza punishing him once she eventually found out.

   "Just because a mission's main objective isn't defeating some monster doesn't mean it's boring." Lily began eating at his second kiwi, quite content to simply talk to his partner. For once the guild had a reasonable atmosphere, and he enjoyed it whilst he could, since before too long it would be thrown into violence and destruction once more.

   "Hmm…" Gajeel hummed, neither agreeing nor denying his exceed's statement. As bored as he was, the pleasant summer afternoon had put him in a sort of lull. That drowsy feeling wouldn't go away, but he was aching for something to do. What a predicament.

   Mira walked over, noticing Gajeel's boredom, and chuckled. "Not interested in any of the missions on the board?" She guessed, placing a can full of screws and nails in front of the dragon slayer. He perked up just a little, reaching for the snack with an appreciative nod.

   "Nah, they're all escort missions. Nothing too exciting. I thought I saw a bandit job a few days ago, but it's gone now." He grumped, wishing he had taken it when he'd seen it, but having just come back from another one, all he'd wanted to do was relax for a day or two.

   Mira gave her sweet smile as usual, watching the pierced man crunch away at the metal bits. "Oh, that's right. I believe Team Shadow Gear took that one. They should be returning very soon, I would think."

   "Eh? The shrimp and those two idiots?" He raised a brow, thinking back to the details of the mission. If he recalled, the village had been attacked several times by a rogue band of thieves and thugs, looking to take over and set up a sort of base of operations. The residents had tried fighting back, but only had a few mages in their community to help.

   Mira seemed to note the slight worry in Gajeel's expression, probably thinking about a certain blue-haired mage. She gave a knowing grin, her eyes half-lidded. Leaning closer, she gave a chuckle. "Don't worry, Levy can handle herself."

   There was a split second when the dragon slayer's eyes widened, but Gajeel schooled his facial expressions back into indifference, pissed that the barmaid could read him that easily. Was it that obvious? God, he really had to get his act together. He crossed his arms and looked away. "Tch. Why would I be worried?" Then, more as an afterthought, he added under his breath, "As long as those two don't fuck it up, she'll be fine."

   Mira only smiled angelically, not even fazed as Gajeel finished the contents of the can and began chomping the edges of the can itself. She'd expected as much.

   "I think you give the both of them a harder time than what they deserve."

   "Put it this way, I'd rather work alone than with those two." Mira sighed, reaching under the counter to grab a clean mug, and pouring Gajeel a beer, placing it front of him with a soft thud. "Droy and Jet are resourceful when they need to be."

   "Yeah, right after they've already let her get hurt." He griped, forgetting that he was trying not to talk about her for the moment. Lily noticed this, and smirked beneath his kiwi. As much as Gajeel wanted to keep up that 'i don't care about anyone' attitude, he wasn't able to stop from keeping Levy in his thoughts.

   Mira didn't miss the slip either, but decided that it would be better to leave him in peace for the moment. "They do their best to protect Levy, you know. And she's not a weak person either."

   "The shrimp's not weak, but those two can't keep her safe. If that's their best, then they need to train harder."

   The barmaid said nothing, opting to leave the man to his thoughts. She wandered off to get something for another guild mate who approached the bar further down.

   Gajeel finished eating the can and reached for his beer, resorting to once again brood at the bar. Lily sighed at his attitude.

   "You know, you could just ask Levy to go on missions with you. If you want to keep her safe so bad, I'm sure she'd say yes."

   "Shut it, cat." He growled, though he couldn't stop the faint blush that touched his cheeks at the mention. It wasn't as if he hadn't thought about doing that very thing before, but he couldn't bring himself to actually do it. What excuse did he have to having her along, other than he just liked her presence?

   "Didn't you promise her you'd make her stronger? You could always say you're making good on it." Lily interjected, having an inkling about what the dragon slayer was thinking.

   Gajeel paused. He hadn't thought of that. Maybe…

   "Mind your own business." He eventually said, not willing to admit that he may just try that.

   Lily rolled his eyes but said nothing more. Fine, if the Iron Dragon Slayer wanted to be a brooding grump, that was his choice. Sometimes the man could be too stubborn for his own good.

   Gajeel's happiness was something important to the exceed. And he knew that the man wasn't very forthcoming with how he felt. Neither was Levy, for that matter, who thought the dragon slayer held no interest with her. The exceed was quite fond of the bookworm, and he knew that deep down, the Iron Dragon Slayer was as well. Hmm. Perhaps he'd need to step in and lend a hand. That's what friends were for, after all.

   Panther Lily glanced down the bar at the white-haired barmaid, who was talking with another of the guild mates. A part of him knew that he wouldn't be the only one trying to push them together, watching Mira laugh at something the guild member said. He smirked. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Even after a few more days of keeping on eye on the job board, Gajeel still hadn't found anything of interest that suited him and his skills. They were all translation or escort missions, and he wanted something a bit more action-packed than that. Lily, however, suspected that he was simply waiting for Levy to return from her own job before taking on another one. Not that he'd admit it if the exceed ever asked.

Erza and the Master had returned, and with the fiery red-head back in Magnolia, the guild was slightly back to its normal temperament. Though Gajeel had no doubt that once Natsu and the bunny girl got back, it would seem as if there was never a moment of quiet. He wondered how Juvia was doing, since she was still on her job with Gray. She was one of the few people he talked to on a regular basis, though most of the time she went on and on about how she would win the affections of the ice mage, so perhaps it was good that she was still away, now that he thought about it.

Mira had pestered him to find something to do, bringing up Levy whenever she could as a means of getting under his skin, but Gajeel was adamant that the shrimp had nothing to do with his sour mood, and that he just wanted to rest a few more days, and was waiting for the right mission to come along. Unfortunately, they both knew that the white-haired mage was much smarter than that, but the dragon slayer could pretend and play it off as boredom.

He was growing tired of the predictable violence of the guildhall as days passed, dodging chairs and bottles of beer as they were thrown aside by feuding comrades, arguing over some meaningless subject or another. Or, better yet, if someone dared interfere with Erza eating her cake. He was aware that his moping around was beginning to get on Lily's nerves, but honestly he didn't much care. Still, he came every day and stayed as long as he could, arms crossed and glancing at the door on occasion.

So, it was in his usual spot he sat when the bluenette and her two partners of Shadow Gear entered the guild on that sunny morning. Of course, his hypersensitive sense of smell alerted him of their return before they even pushed through the door. Gajeel stiffened, then soon relaxed at the familiar scents.

"What is it?" Lily asked, who sat beside him eating his usual kiwi, noticing a change in the his partner's behavior. Gajeel shifted in his seat.

"They're back." Was all he said.

"Hey, guys!" Jet waved a friendly greeting, smiling in relief as they stepped back into the wooden walls of their home.

"We're back!" Droy supplied, not a moment behind him. Other guild members called out heartily, welcoming their returned comrades. Their familiar scents of plants and sweat pervaded his nose as they approached, but he ignored them, instead trying to focus on another, much more pleasant smell. Levy, the smallest of the three, was a couple steps behind them, and pushed through the door much more quietly.

As soon as he recognized that familiar head of messy blue locks, his eyes locked onto the small woman, and his nose was filled with the sweet aroma of old books and daisies. She smiled sweetly to those who called out to her, waving happily in return.

Something was wrong. His eyes narrowed as he examined her thoroughly. She walked with a limp, and a distinct one at that. White bandages wrapped around her thigh, which seemed to be causing her trouble. With each step, her eyes would narrow. A wince of pain, he realized, a growl threatening to spill over from deep in his being.

"It's not like what we do isn't dangerous, Gajeel. Everyone gets hurt on jobs." Lily said, trying to be the voice of reason here, and also hoping to prevent a beatdown of Team Shadow Gear, minus Levy of course, if he could help it.

"Seems like she gets hurt on every mission." He muttered, unhappy with his observation. Lily couldn't really say anything to that, considering he was right.

Jet and Droy arrived at the bar, and ordered two beers from Mira, who was happy to serve them. Levy, meanwhile, took a seat at an empty table, taking out a book from her bag to read. Gajeel could see she was tired, no doubt from the injuries those two idiots had allowed her to receive. The dragon slayer's fist clenched of its own volition.

 _If I'd have been there, she wouldn't be hurting._  He swore in his head, glaring obviously at the two male members of Shadow Gear. It conveniently slipped his notice that they were also injured, though their visible wounds were much more superficial than those of Levy, and didn't seem to cause them as much pain.

Gajeel, as well as Lily, had noticed that ever since he'd worked alongside the bluenette for the Council, he'd been a lot more protective over her. Often times, he'd get jealous when other members of their unit would lean a little too close to her, or shake her hand a little too long. It was all he could do not to beat men of his own unit into the ground, and to hide his growing attachment to her, especially when they worked so closely with one another. When Fairy Tail had been reformed, things hadn't seemed to change.

It took a moment before Jet and Droy realized the dragon slayer was there, but when they did, he knew it too. They froze, staring in fear and shock upon noticing his angry attention on them.

"Uh…h-hey, Gajeel." Droy started, wondering what it was they'd done now to warrant the bigger man's ill gaze. Nothing came to mind that they knew of. Though, the man was as surly as they came, so one could never quite tell what was on his mind.

Not bothering to respond, Gajeel growled and returned his attention to the breakfast Mira had made for him that morning. Deep down, the dragon slayer was loath to admit it. In fact, he hated even thinking about that time in his life, now that he was a new man, of sorts. But a part of him wished that his attack on Team Shadow Gear so long ago had snapped the two men out of their daydream and made them realize that they weren't nearly as strong as they needed to be. He knew first hand just how unfit to protect the Solid Script Mage they were.

It was selfish of him, really.

Even after Levy had already forgiven him for his mistakes, at least he hoped she had, he knew that Jet and Droy hadn't been as forthcoming with their acceptance of him into the guild. Gajeel understood. It had taken time. But that didn't mean he had to sympathize with them entirely. At least they were on better terms than before, when they'd outright refused to even leave the bluenette in his presence by herself or otherwise.

That familiar little spark of guilt quickly overcame any anger he harbored. Gajeel couldn't pretend that he was without fault. Things had seemed to improve during his time in the Council, working alongside the bluenette on a daily basis and protecting her from danger, but he could never truly forgive himself for what he'd done. And he was willing to bet neither could Jet and Droy, deep down.

He didn't blame them, really.

All he could do now was make sure nothing hurt her again if he had anything to say about it. A small attempt at repentance. But it seemed even that wasn't enough. His features softened as the sins he'd committed against the small woman flooded his memory. If only he could go back in time and fix it all…

The Gajeel of Phantom Lord had certainly been a bastard of immense proportions.

The two men of Shadow Gear noticed Gajeel's abrupt change in disposition, but kept quiet. The Iron Dragon Slayer was volatile at best, and since they'd already seemed to have angered him for one reason or another, they didn't exactly want to push their luck by asking what was wrong. Not that Gajeel would tell them when all was said and done, anyways.

Though Droy, glancing at Levy who sat at the table by herself, then back at the raven-haired man sitting at the bar, had an inkling as to what was making him upset. Some people thought that Droy was a bit dense, and he supposed at times he could be, but there wasn't a lot the man missed when he happened to be paying attention. For example, the occasional glance Gajeel sent in Levy's direction, or, the way his eyes held a sadness that Droy knew never to ask about.

"I know that look." Panther Lily lectured, taking a bite of his kiwi. "Stop thinking like that. You know she forgave you." Gajeel had told him long ago what he'd done to the bluenette, but from what the exceed could observe, she no longer even thought about what had happened. Though, he could tell the man had a hard time believing that. If only Gajeel could forgive himself now…

"Shut it, cat." He muttered, not looking his way.

The Iron Dragon Slayer's attention was shifted to the blue-haired mage getting up and walking to the job board. He watched as she perused the posted ads, and he frowned, standing from his seat to go talk to her.

"Remember what I said!" Panther Lily called just loud enough for him to hear, watching the dragon slayer walk away. He hoped that Gajeel would man up this time and just offer to take a mission with her. He was tired of all this sulking.

* * *

"Hey, shrimp." He said abruptly, walking up beside her. She jumped a little in surprise, placing a hand over her chest and turning to look at him.

"Gajeel, you scared me. Don't sneak up on me like that." She scolded, smiling despite her deep frown.

"Gihee, you make it too easy." Gajeel grinned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Always got your nose in a book or something."

Levy scratched the back of her head sheepishly, a faint blush marking her cheeks. "Yeah, I guess so." The bluenette turned back to the job board, her finger tracing over the descriptions of a few posters. "Ah, these are all so far away…"

"Shouldn't you stay a few days to recover before taking another job?" Gajeel questioned, gesturing to the bandages wrapping her leg. Levy glanced down at her injured limb, involuntarily pulling down on the skirt of her orange dress to hide it.

"Well, I've gotten a bit behind on my rent this month, so I've got to take another one immediately."

"Eh? It's only 100,000 jewels a month. You can't be that broke. Don't tell me you spent it all on books." He raised a brow, and her blush deepened. She really wasn't ashamed of her reasoning for having such a high rent, but admitting it to Gajeel seemed to carry more weight than with anyone else.

The noise in the guild seemed to pick up, as Cana challenged yet another person to a drinking contest and no one was willing to attempt it. She yelled for someone worthy of her skill to step forward. Gajeel and Levy ignored the commotion, but kept an eye out for any flying objects.

"Well…for me…it's 300,000. Since I have to pay for two extra rooms just for books…" Levy muttered, and Gajeel blanched.

"You have two separate rooms just for that?" He shook his head, exasperated. "Damn, shorty, buy any more and you'll have more than the library."

Levy kept quiet, electing not to admit that the library had, on more than one occasion, asked her for a few books from her own personal collection that they didn't have. The novels and tomes she'd collected in her travels were quite rare, and once word got out to the bookkeeper at the public library, he'd been antsy to get his hands on a few of them. Thankfully, the dragon slayer didn't push the issue any further.

"Why don't you just ask Bunny Girl for the jewels? They should be back in a couple days." Gajeel suggested, though he knew exactly what her reaction would be to that remark, and she promptly shook her head vigorously.

"I can't mooch off of my friends! That's just rude!"

He shrugged nonchalantly. Gajeel didn't really see the problem, but he knew Levy was much more concerned with social etiquette than he was.

"Well, you'd better not be thinking about going alone. Those two better be going with you, at the very least. Even if they are sort of useless." His eyes narrowed. Levy sighed deeply, and Gajeel frowned.

"You're too hard on them. And that last mission really took a lot out of them. They deserve a few days of rest, I can't ask them to go with me."

Interrupting their conversation was Cana screaming that whoever had challenged her was cheating, and abruptly tossed her beer keg towards her opponent. The person ducked, and the large wooden keg flew across the room towards Gajeel.

"Ya ain't goin' alone, shrimp." Scowling without missing a beat, the dragon slayer caught the stray beer keg with one hand, letting it fall to the ground with a thud harmlessly. Levy's eyes widened, watching as he flawlessly defended himself from the projectile. It hadn't even looked like he'd turned to watch it fly towards him.

"Well, then, what am I supposed to do? I have to go on one of these missions." She crossed her arms stubbornly, but Gajeel was having none of it.

"I'll go with you." He said. The bluenette blinked, eyes widening. She hadn't been expecting that. Her hesitation seemed to annoy him, since he rolled his eyes and turned away. "It's not like we haven't worked together before."

"No, it's not that!" She waved her hands to try to explain. "I was just surprised is all. I didn't think you'd want to team up with me again after we returned to Fairy Tail. You never mentioned wanting to…" Her eyes flicked away, unable to look him in the eyes. Gajeel knew exactly what was going through her mind and that was not going to stand with him.

"The hell are you saying, shorty?" Gajeel frowned, leaning down to flick her on the forehead.

"Ow! What was that for?" She moved her hand to cover the spot he'd struck, trying to lessen the sting. He tilted his head, examining her again.

"What makes you think things would change from how they were? I promised I'd make you big, remember?" He looked away, willing the heat not to show on his cheeks. Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer, would  _not_  blush over something so stupid as trying to convince Levy to let him accompany her on a job, no matter how important it was to him.

"I, uh…well…I thought maybe you decided you wanted to work alone again…or that you wanted a stronger partner…"

Gajeel scoffed. "Tch. There you go again putting yourself down. I've heard enough. I'm gonna train you from now on too, to keep my promise."

Levy looked up to him in surprise, her brown eyes shining. "But…you already helped train me a lot while we were in the Council." Gajeel grinned.

"Well, obviously I didn't finish the job. You still look pretty small to me." She deadpanned, crossing her arms.

"Hmph. If you stop teasing me, maybe I'll let you go." The dragon slayer knew that was a yes from her, and immediately felt a weight lift off of his chest. A part of him had feared that she'd want nothing to do with him after their time at the Council, as unlikely a possibility as it was, but it seemed all was well.

He turned to the request board and gestured to all of the posters, a smirk widening on his lips. "Pick one. If it's at the top I'll grab it for you, since you might not be able to reach." His words caused her to frown, unamused at his teasing. A deep blush crept across her cheeks.

"S-stupid Gajeel! I'm not that short!" She cried, swatting at him to go away. He only chuckled at her pathetic attempts to make him leave. Obviously she wasn't actually trying, but he found it cute nonetheless.

"Gihee, just trying to help, shrimp."

"Stupid, stupid!" She yelled, finally grabbing a poster and stomping over to the bar to notify Mira that she'd be taking the job. Gajeel followed her, those feelings of self doubt receding once more to the back of his mind.


	3. Chapter 3

"You couldn't have picked a closer job?" Gajeel mumbled from his seat on the train. His head was between his knees as he struggled to keep from emptying the contents of his stomach with every sway and creak of the moving vehicle. His head pounded, each throb threatening to send him over the edge and hurling into the waste bin that Levy had gone to fetch just for that purpose.

From the seat across from him, Levy sighed, lowering her book and cocking her head in sympathy at the state of her companion.

"This was one of the closest translation jobs posted. And you didn't exactly let me look at the rest of them for very long either." She mused, raised a brow. He didn't reply, too lost in his nausea to even tease her. "Either way, we've only got another few hours or so and then we'll be arriving in Rosalia."

They were headed to the country of Bosco, where a bookkeeper in Birchwood had gotten his hands on an ancient tome, written in a language he had no knowledge of. Naturally, he'd asked for Levy by name in the job request, seeing as she was the most proficient translator in Fairy Tail. Freed was a close second, but his specialty lay more in runes, traps, and enchantments.

Rosalia was the closest city by train. The rest of the journey would have to be made on foot, a fact Gajeel was just a little thankful for. The less time he had to spend on a moving vehicle, the better it would be for everybody.

Levy watched the mountain range surrounding them grow more distant as the train traveled, with a forest slowly coming into view between them. The landscape of Bosco differed only slightly from that of Fiore. It felt much like home, Levy thought, her gaze returning to the book she'd brought along to occupy herself during the long ride.

The train began a turn, changing the center of gravity for those inside. Gajeel groaned in response, opting to lie down on the seats rather than sit, facing away from the reading bluenette clutching his middle in a vain attempt to stop the dizzying feeling. Levy watched his pathetic attempt to ease his toiling head, and sighed quietly. Putting aside her book, making sure to mark her place, she reached for her bag and took out the small vial of perfume she always kept with her.

More searching for a piece of cloth or something similar revealed nothing, but she quickly reached up and undid the orange ribbon tying her hair out of her face. Laying the ribbon across her lap, she folded it a few times over. Uncapping the perfume bottle, she gathered the ribbon and covered the lid with it, tipping it over quickly so the scented liquid within soaked through some of the layers.

Once she felt it was strong enough, she recapped the perfume and put it away. Levy leaned over and tapped the dragon slayer on the shoulder, getting his attention.

"Here, the scent of this should help with the nausea." Realizing he couldn't see the ribbon she held out to him, she stood and dangled it in front of his face, restraining the involuntary wince of pain as her leg wound was agitated.

He cracked an eye open, taking in the sight of her ribbon folded up, before the scent of peppermint filled his highly sensitive nose. For a moment, it felt as if he didn't feel sick at all. Eyes widening, he gently took her offered ribbon and held it close to his nose, inhaling the scent greedily.

Levy returned to her seat and picked up her book again, pushing the now-freed strands of her hair out of her face. She shifted her leg a little, trying to get it in a more comfortable position so the bandages wouldn't rub too much against her still-healing wound. Looking back up at her companion, she noticed Gajeel's shoulder seemed to relax a little, and she smiled.

"Thanks…" He muttered just loud enough for her to hear.

Gajeel closed his eyes in bliss, feeling a respite from the unsteady tossing and turning of his stomach. Levy had been right, the perfume helped immensely. Underlying the crisp scent of the peppermint itself was the hint of Levy's shampoo, the sweet and fruity aroma of strawberries.

But he'd never admit _that_  was what he was really trying to fill his lungs with when he sniffed at the ribbon, clenching it tightly between his fingers.

* * *

"I thought we'd never get off that damn thing." Gajeel groaned, popping his back as the two walked away from the Rosalia train station. Glancing behind him as he slung his bag over his shoulders, he saw passengers beginning to board for the next departure. "Can't we just walk on the way back to Magnolia?"

Levy looked at him funny. "Gajeel, it would take us over a week to travel on foot."

He shrugged, grinning. "So? What about it?"

With a sigh, she shook her head and tried straightening her hair again. The wind kept blowing it around her face and it was starting to get annoying. "My rent is due by Friday, and I can't have another late payment."

Obviously this wasn't the answer he'd been hoping for, as his grin quickly fell away. "More fucking trains…" Gajeel scowled, crossing his arms in a pout.

"Well, you wanted to go with me…" Levy muttered, looking away and holding her arms behind her back. It wasn't as if she'd forced him. He was the one who'd pretty much told her he was going with. Not that she didn't appreciate it, because she did, but he could be a little dense sometimes. He sighed deeply.

"I know that. It ain't your fault, shrimp." Levy felt a finger push at her head, and she looked up to her partner with an annoyed frown. He was grinning in response. "Quit your moping."

"I'm not the one moping." She swatted his hand away with a blush she couldn't contain.

"Gihee, you're too easy to tease, shorty."

"Urgh! Don't call me shorty." Levy smacked his shoulder. Gajeel pretended to think about that for a moment, before turning back to her with an even wider grin.

"How 'bout tiny, then?"

Levy's face turned a deep shade of red from anger. "Stupid Gajeel! Stupid!" She shouted in exasperation, finally throwing her arms up in defeat and picking up her pace to walk away from him. But of course, he just couldn't resist throwing in another taunt as she sauntered away like that.

"Don't wander too far, or I might lose you in the tall grass, gihee!" Gajeel saw her shoulders tense, and in the next moment she rounded on the spot and pointed towards him, a smirk of her own in place.

"Solid Script: Quiet!"

The word materialized in midair and shot towards Gajeel's face, wrapping around his mouth and holding fast. Levy watched the moment of his realization, the way his eyes widened and he tried backing up a step, but by that time it was already too late.

He tried speaking but all he could do was gesture wildly in anger. The spell cancelled all noise he tried to make. Levy giggled at his deep frown as he pulled in vain at the nonexistent sound barrier on his face. All that was left was the word 'quiet' printed into his skin where her magic sealed his mouth shut.

He pointed to his mouth over and over, glaring vehemently, obviously wanting her to cancel the spell but she only smiled sweetly and skipped ahead, feeling rather proud. It was nice to see him be the one floundering for once.

"Better keep up, Gajeel, and don't get lost! I won't be able to hear you call out."

He sighed silently, glaring at her back.

Several minutes went by, with Levy leading them ever closer to Birchwood, glancing back mischievously at her silenced companion every once in awhile to make sure he hadn't wandered off. She'd giggle at his unamused expression.

The corner of his mouth tilted upwards at the sound of her laugh. Once again, the dragon slayer felt it was music to his ears. His mood lightening, Gajeel smirked. He had to admit he'd been impressed with her display of power. She had definitely gotten stronger and faster during their time in the Council. Not only that, but she'd taken to defending herself against his teasing more and more, something Gajeel had started to enjoy.

He cocked his head, his eyes wandering to the perfect view of the bluenette's rear end as she stomped away in annoyance. Not for the first time, he was thankful of her wardrobe preferences, admiring the enticing view of her legs in that orange dress.

And at least he had a good view.

* * *

They arrived in Birchwood just before lunch, and Levy finally released Gajeel of her magic.

"About time you took that off! I should arrest you…" Gajeel growled, rubbing at his newly-freed mouth from her magic. It felt strange to be talking again, as if the sound of his voice were different. Levy only chuckled, turning back to the edge of the town and walking past the small outpost they had for security.

"If you would stop teasing me, I wouldn't have to do that." She reasoned, searching the streets back and forth for some sign of their destination. Neither one of them had ever been to this town before, and both were unsure of where to go.

"Doesn't mean you have to muzzle me for two damn hours…" The dragon slayer muttered, crossing his arms. Ignoring him, the bluenette reached into her bag and produced the job posting, reading the description again.

"The store is called Russo Bookery. By the directions they give, it should be near to a local cafe." She glanced up, not seeing any restaurants in visible sight. Gajeel elected to lead the way, letting his nose do the searching. The smell of fresh bread and other cooking foods made his mouth water. They hadn't stopped for lunch, nor had he eaten anything before taking the train to avoid getting sick, so the raven-haired man was starving.

"We should get something to eat before we meet whoever this guy is." Gajeel suggested, leading them through the streets of the town. It was quite small, though spacious and not overly crowded like Magnolia could be sometimes. Levy pursed her lips, examining all of the buildings around them with interest.

"I suppose, but I'd like to get started on translating as soon as I can. I don't know how long the book I'm supposed to translate will be, or even what language it's in, and we have to be back to Magnolia by Friday-"

Gajeel held up his hands, pausing in the road to stop her rambling. "Relax, shorty, you'll get back in time to pay the old hag. Eating lunch ain't gonna set you behind. You'll need food in order to stay sharp anyways."

As if to prove his point, her stomach rumbled loudly, and she blushed as he smirked with satisfaction. He'd won this round. Sighing, she began walking again, now hoping to find some place to eat quickly so they could meet the client.

* * *

They happened upon the cafe that the job description had mentioned, and Gajeel and Levy sat down to a light meal. In addition to the food, Levy wrote up some iron for the dragon slayer to eat as well, feeling a bit bad for what she'd done to him earlier. She hoped he wasn't genuinely angry at her for it, but if the smirk he sported while recounting training sessions with Panther Lily was anything to go by, everything was fine. Speaking of which…

"Why didn't Lily come with us?" The bluenette asked. Gajeel glanced up, halfway through chewing a crunch of iron.

"He wanted to stay and train with Erza." Levy nodded, returning to her meal. To be honest, she missed having the little exceed around with them. She hadn't seen him properly since they'd returned from the Council. Which was a shame. She was quite fond of the cat.

They had a window seat, so Levy could see out into the town square, bustling with residents and traveling merchants selling their wares. In the middle sat a tall statue of a man Levy didn't recognize. The bluenette suspected that he held some importance to the town's formation, or something of the like. Children played, running and shouting, while their mothers and fathers watched from afar, conversing with the other adults about grown up things.

Levy didn't realize how much time had passed while she inspected the town from the window.

"Oi, you alright?" After awhile, Gajeel snapped his fingers together several times, finally gaining her attention away from the window. "Earth to shrimp!"

Snapping her head around, she raised her brows in surprise. "H-huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry, I was just watching the people."

"Are you ready to go? You're the one who wanted to see this guy as soon as possible." He nodded down at the empty plate in front of her, and she came to realize that she'd been absentmindedly munching on the sandwich she'd ordered, finishing it up long ago. Gajeel's own plate was devoid of his food as well.

"Right!" She chirped happily, grabbing her bag and standing. Mind set on the task at hand once more, they paid for the meal and left the cafe, heading over to the bookstore set opposite of the square.

A worn cloth banner fluttered with the wind, pinned to the building in a few places to keep it up.  _Russo's Bookery and Literary Collections_. It was a brown-stone building with a low roof, much more dated than the rest of the town so far. Levy guessed that it had been one of the first built in the town, judging by the darkened glass windows and cracked stone in some places.

Sparing one more glance at Gajeel, she pushed her way into the store. Above her, a small bell jingled, notifying the owner of their arrival. Gajeel stepped in behind the small mage, stopping when they took in the interior of the bookstore.

Levy stood still, mouth open, at the sea of books rising to the ceiling all around her. Shelves lined the walls, with parallel shelves occupying the space in the middle. But all around the neatly-packed shelves were stacks and stacks of scattered books. Some almost reached the ceiling, while others seemed to have been knocked over and strewn across the floor haphazardly.

Old and new, cracking leather covers for spell books and the newer colorful covers of novels. The store had a bit of everything and then some. Levy clasped her hands together in delight, her eyes slowly turning to stars as she inhaled the hint of vanilla scent that accompanied old books. Behind her, Gajeel inwardly groaned, a stony expression crossing his face.

"Just great…" He muttered, thinking that if the state of the store was anything to go by, then they must be dealing with a nutcase of some kind. Not to mention, he'd have a hard time dragging Levy out of the place until she finished translating whatever book the guy had for them.

"Hello?" Levy called, slowly picking her way through the mess of books all around them. She made sure not to step on or damage any of the books in her way, while Gajeel elected to simply sweep those before him to the side with his foot. Of course, he made sure to do so discreetly, so as not to anger the bluenette in front of him.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Levy tried again, peeking her head around one of the shelves.

"Oho! Dearie me!" She heard a man's voice call somewhere in the back. There was a shuffling noise, and suddenly an old man, small in stature, stood before them. He bowed deeply, smiling with closed eyes.

"My apologies! I'm afraid I was in the process of numbering the books, and I did not hear you enter!"

The two Fairy Tail mages studied the man before them. He was only half of Levy's height, and they had to crane their necks down to look at him. Most noticeable was his bushy white eyebrows and beard, and the severely wrinkled face they occupied. The man was definitely old, though his character held a sort of youth that Levy and Gajeel were so used to seeing in the members of their guild. He had that light in his eyes that never seemed to dim.

"Numbering the books?" Levy asked curiously. The old man nodded enthusiastically, tugging at his long white beard that nearly reached the floor.

"Oh, yes! Hopefully, it'll help me put some sense into this store of mine. To be quite frank, our system of organization has seen better days, oho!"

Gajeel deadpanned, glancing at the chaotic disaster of books around him. 'Seen better days' was a bit of an understatement. "You don't say?" He asked in a monotone, the doubt clear in his voice. The old man didn't seem to notice, replying in a jovial way.

"Quite so, and so far it's been relatively smooth sailing!" He placed a hand on his chin in thought. "Though, I've had to start over a few times because I've lost count myself! Oho! Oho!"

The old man chuckled, oblivious to the questionable expression of the two younger mages. Levy and Gajeel glanced between each other, silently exchanging their own shock and confusion as to who exactly this man was.

His chortles grew quieter, and he cleared his throat. "But enough about that! You must be Levy McGarden, correct?" He peered at the script mage to inspect her, and she straightened up, the smile returning to her face.

"That would be me! And you are Mr. Russo?"

"Indeed I am. And who might this imposing young man be?" He peered behind her to the dragon slayer, who raised a brow with crossed arms. Levy cocked her head, gesturing to her companion.

"This is Gajeel, he'll be helping me translate the book. Speaking of which, what exactly will I be working on?"

"Hmm? What book?" He questioned, peering squinted eyes into hers. She stilled, a baffled expression on her face. Gajeel deadpanned behind her, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. The old man looked between them cluelessly, wondering what they were talking about.

"U-uh…the one you posted the ad for?" She supplied, digging in her bag for the poster again. She showed him the ad and suddenly his eyes took on a much clearer look.

"Ah yes! I'd completely forgotten! My mistake, oho!" He tugged on his beard over and over, laughing to himself for having that fact slip his mind. Levy let out a nervous laugh, scratching the back of her head in confusion. Perhaps this job would be a bit harder than she though.

"Oho, forgive me, forgive me…ah, but what was your name again?" He wiped away a nonexistent tear of amusement, peering up at her again.

"Levy." She stated with a sweatdrop, hoping that they could get back to the matter at hand. "You were going to show me this book?" She pointed to the poster again, just to jog his memory in case he'd forgotten. Yet again. Thankfully, he clapped his hands together and nodded.

"This way, come this way!" He gestured for the two to follow him deeper into the store, through the stray books and stacks up above their heads.

"This guy's a fucking nut…" The dragon slayer muttered to his companion, who sighed deeply. She could only agree, though she felt rude for thinking it. He seemed to be a very kind individual. Regardless, they followed him deeper into the messy shop.

Gajeel's frame, much bigger than that of Levy or the old man, had trouble maneuvering his way through the stacks, and more than once, he accidentally knocked down a tower or two of books as they traversed the store.

"Oh, think nothing of it! No problem at all!" The old man would cry. "I myself send a stack or two tumbling to the ground every day!"

They came upon a counter, with a register surrounded by more books. The whole top of the surface was covered in novels of varying sizes and thicknesses. Most of these, Mr. Russo swept aside with a chortle, knocking them to the floor. Gajeel saw Levy wince as the spines hit the floor, and he grinned, wondering how the mage was holding up to the mistreatment of her precious books.

The old man gestured for them to wait there, and he disappeared behind the counter, but they could hear him sorting through books as he looked for the right one. "I had it here somewhere, oho. Now, where did I put it?"

After some time, his hand shot up above the counter, clutching an old leather-bound book. "Aha!" He cried, making his way back around to their side with the book in hand. "Here it is!"

Now that they seemed to be more on track with the reason for their visit, Levy gave a small smile, setting eyes on the dark-colored book cover.

"Hmm. Let's see here…" Levy reached for the book, and Mr. Russo placed it gently in her hands. She moved to set it on the now-cleared counter, inspecting the cover closely. "It looks to have Eastern origin…the leather is worn and cracked…at least a few centuries old, I would think…" She muttered, flipping open the cover to view the first page.

Gajeel leaned over her shoulder, trying to see what she was doing. "So, what is it?" He asked her, and she gave him an exasperated glance.

"I don't know yet. I need to analyze the language used first, and then compare it to others to get the best sense of what the author is trying to say." She paused, flipping through a few of the pages curiously. Frowning, she hummed. "It looks like this is made up of two different variations of Taiyō to tsuki, by first glance."

"Hmm? What's that?" Gajeel asked, unfamiliar with the term. Levy gave him a smile, knowing that he'd probably be very confused for the duration of her having to translate the text. She closed the book, holding it gingerly in her hands.

"Roughly translated, it means 'Tongue of the Sun and Moon.' It's an ancient language long considered dead that was used in the northern-most part of the country of Enca. This book was probably written there or written by someone from there hundreds of years ago." She explained, turning to the bookkeeper. "This may take a few days, so would it be alright if I bring it back to the hotel with me and work on it there?"

"Oho, of course! I trust that you'll treat it with utmost respect! Take all the time and resources you need. If there's something else you need that I may have, feel free to ask!" He encouraged, bowing to her deeply.

"Thank you. I'd actually like to get working on this right away." She turned to Gajeel. "Should we check into the hotel and drop off our stuff?"

He shrugged. "We ain't got anything else better to do at this point." It honestly didn't matter to him. It wasn't like he was expecting any fighting when he took this job with Levy, and it was a chance for him to relax and be in her company again. He'd been prepared for a lot of down time anyways.

"Thank you, Mr. Russo. I hope to have this finished for you soon!"

"I look forward to seeing you again…ah…" He paused, frowning thoughtfully with a hand on his chin. "Now, what was your name again?" He muttered to himself.

Levy began walking away before the old man could begin asking her the same questions for a third time. She waved a goodbye and began making her way back to the entrance of the bookstore, with Gajeel following behind her.

After a bit of maneuvering between the books on the floor and those stacked up high again, this time luckily without any of them falling over, they left the bookstore and headed towards another street where an inn was located.

Levy flicked through the book idly as she walked, glancing over random pages and trying to make sense of even a few words. She'd only come across the language a few times before, translating old manuscripts and examples of the ancient civilization's culture, so most of it was foreign to her. She still had no idea what subject the book pertained to at this point.

"I still don't understand how you can figure out what these things say." Gajeel commented, grabbing the book from her hands and inspecting it for himself.

"Hey! Be careful with that. It's probably several hundred years old, like I said. And if you damage it, I won't get paid." She tried snatching it out of his grasp, but he moved it out of reach, raising his brow.

"Relax, shrimp. I ain't gonna break your precious book." He thumbed through a few pages too, making no sense out of the strange inscriptions that filled it. As his eyes skimmed over the unfamiliar symbols and shapes, his admiration for the small mage grew just a little bit. He'd known how resourceful and smart she could be, but it was during times like this when he really was reminded of that fact. "Honestly, it's incredible what you can do with words. It really is something."

Predictably, a blush crept over the bluenette's face, and she looked away in an attempt to hide it. She recalled him saying similar things when Laxus had attacked the guild so long ago. "T-thanks…but don't think that I can figure it out in one day. It's still gonna take some time to get through every page."

"You worry too much, gihee." Gajeel chuckled and placed his hand on her head reassuringly. "Just concentrate on figuring out what it says. Take your time."

"Ok." She smiled widely, her confidence boosted by the faith that Gajeel placed in her. She was glad that he seemed to recognize what was undoubtedly her biggest strength. Levy beamed, that swell of pride never leaving as they found a hotel to stay in for their time in Birchwood.


	4. Chapter 4

Gajeel cracked open an eye, watching the bluenette sitting in the same position she'd been in for the past two hours, her nose deep in the old book the forgetful store owner had given her the day before. He closed it again, letting himself go to the feeling of the unending flow of water as it poured over his head. He shifted his seat on the flat rock underneath, his hands poised neatly over his lap.

Breathing deeply, he ignored the sounds of the forest around them, ignored the cold of the waterfall's stream, and listened only to the sound of his own breathing, before eventually tuning that out as well. The rush of water passed his ears, captivating his attention and setting him adrift in darkness, his skin going numb…

"Hmm…no, this is being used past tense, unlike before…" Levy's quiet mutterings reached his ears, trumping any other sound he registered. "The author intermingles the word meanings from each variation…interesting…a lot of unnecessary work, too…"

Having been yanked out of his tranquil thoughts, Gajeel sighed and opened his eyes again, looking towards the Levy in annoyance. "Could you keep it down, shrimp? I'm trying to concentrate."

Without looking up from the page, the script mage lifted a delicate brow, her red glasses shifting down a little on her nose. "So am I."

"Then quit muttering…that shit's distracting." He griped, forcing his eyes closed again. Despite her response, the bluenette went silent for awhile, allowing the dragon slayer to concentrate on his breathing and relaxing his frame. Before long, Gajeel was too lost in his own mind to remember that she'd interrupted at all.

Levy looked up at Gajeel, pausing in her scribbling on the notepad that was now full of symbols and words. He'd been sitting under that waterfall for as long as she'd been translating, which was to say, a very long time. Eyes closed in a tranquil expression, Levy was reminded of their time in the Council, when he'd instructed her in a much similar exercise, minus the waterfall.

The stream travelled down his bare chest, as she watched the trails of water cut across his toned skin. The bluenette had to marvel at his endurance and determination. Perhaps that was why he was so much stronger than her, as well as a number of their guild mates.

Realizing she'd been distractedly staring at him for several minutes, she shook her head with a faint blush, tucking a stray hair behind her head and returning to the old book Mr. Russo had given her. Luckily for her, Gajeel was too focused on his training to notice. It wouldn't do to let him know that she'd been thinking rather unladylike things as she stared. No, that was something she could do without.

Levy tried getting comfortable again up against the trunk of the tree she sat beneath. They were located in a clearing Gajeel had found in the wooded area near Birchwood, sniffing out the fresh water with his heightened sense of smell. His one condition to tagging along with her was that they go somewhere that he could occupy himself while she translated, knowing it would otherwise be a long several hours of sitting around in the hotel room watching her work.

As they were, Levy sat with several reference books she'd procured from a magic shop, with comparative languages similar to Taiyō to tsuki, or so she claimed, with Gajeel wondering how much longer this translation could possibly take. He tried recalling how long she'd been gone on similar jobs before, but couldn't quite remember specifics.

Not that he didn't like watching her work, of course. In fact, it was one of his favorite things. She'd wrinkle up her nose when something didn't seem right, or she'd bite her lip at a particularly tricky part. Often times before, he'd found himself staring at her expressions, memorizing how they changed her face in an assortment of ways. But even he had his limits of what he could tolerate. Sitting around doing nothing for  _hours_ , was not one of them. Again, he didn't know how the shrimp could do it.

Realizing with a sigh that his thoughts had once again drifted to the bluenette sitting a few feet away, he unhooked his hands and uncrossed his legs, standing on top of the rock with a stretch. There wasn't much point in continuing this training if his thoughts were constantly going to be plagued by her. Levy didn't seem to notice that he'd moved for the first time in several hours, and she'd resorted to mumbling under her breath once more. He was willing to bet she didn't even realize it either.

"No, there's definitely a pattern to the interchanging variations…" She mused, drawing several lines through her notes, as if to section them off.

Gajeel picked up the towel he'd placed nearby, drying off his hair and body before throwing on his shirt. He stalked closer to the small mage, taking a seat beside her with his back to a tree. Once he was closer to her, he thought he saw her cheeks tinged a faint shade of pink, but he couldn't be too sure.

"How goes the translating, shorty?" He leaned closer, trying to make sense of what seemed to him to be random shapes and drawings, lines and boxes highlighting random things. She glanced up, finishing up her sentence, or series of symbols to the dragon slayer, and frowned.

"I'm having a harder time than I thought I would. The author took great pains to make sure that the book was difficult to read, for some reason. All I can make out of it are strange scriptures of some kind."

"Scriptures? So it's a religious book?" He guessed, cocking an eyebrow. She shrugged, turning the page to see the next set of symbols for her to tackle.

"Perhaps. From what I can gather, it talks a lot about death." Her frown returned, her brown eyes traveling over the length of her scribbled notes. "In fact, death seems to be the subject of the whole book. Loss of a body and the process of the soul leaving the physical world."

"Eh? Well, what does some of it say?" Gajeel leaned back, getting comfortable. He had a feeling that she'd be translating for a while longer and figured that he'd fall asleep soon enough. The sun's gentle warmth was already making him a bit drowsy.

"Well, this part, for example," She started, flipping a few pages back and tracing her finger over a specific line, "reads, 'and at the time of separation, may the earth quake and cry out in fear, for the soul has found it's rightful place.' The author refers to death quite often as 'separation.'" She explained, returning to her place in the book. "I've still got a ways to go, though."

"Well, just wake me up when it's lunch time." He said, letting out a tired yawn. She nodded with a hum, and soon the dragon slayer was breathing evenly beside her, the sun drying off his damp hair and pants.

* * *

Lily rested the tip of his sword in the dirt, panting from exertion. Sweat dripped down his forehead and to the ground, a testament to his hard training. His battle form heaved in an effort to replenish the oxygen he'd used up while fighting. Erza, in much similar fashion, eased up on her tight grip of her sword, lowering the point until she rested it to the ground below.

"As usual, your skills match even those of my own, Lily." Erza grinned, pleased with the strength of her comrade. Panther Lily nodded, transforming back into his small cat form, his sword shrinking down to fit at his back. He sheathed the weapon and watched as Erza requipped out of her normal training outfit, the red and yellow pants and bandaged top. She returned to her usual Heart Kreuz armor and returned her sword to wherever she kept her things.

"And as usual, I could not break through your defense even once." The cat stated with a matching grin. Erza conceded this fact, inclining her head.

"Had I not requipped to a weapon of better leverage earlier, you surely would have landed a fairly sizable hit against me. That sword does a great deal of damage when wielded with expert precision." Lily didn't miss the compliment to his swordsmanship and once more found a deep respect for the scarlet-haired woman before him. Not only strong, but humble as well.

"So, we shall consider this yet another draw?" The exceed chuckled, and Erza grinned. They began to walk back into the guild from the training field, stepping inside of the loud and boisterous guild hall where Natsu and Lucy had just returned from their latest job.

"Natsu! Get down from there!" The blonde shouted up at the ceiling, where the Fire Dragon Slayer swung back and forth on the chandelier with the back of his legs. Upside down, he crossed his arms and pouted.

"Luucccyyy! Come join us!" Happy flew up beside his companion and adopted the same position, his short little legs holding him to the edge of the ceiling.

"Aye! Come join us, Lucy!" The blue cat agreed, waving to her.

"How would I even get up there? How did  _you_  even get up there?" She yelled, shaking her fist at her partner. Lily and Erza sidestepped their little display and walked up to the bar, where Mirajane watched the hall with a delighted smile.

"It's great to have everyone back home, isn't it?" She asked softly. She seemed to be ignoring the sound of shattering glass as mugs were thrown across the room or smashed over the head of misbehaving guild members. Something smelled like it was burning, no doubt Natsu had caught something on fire, and there was always the constant background noise of people yelling. Her sweet smile never wavered, however, and she pressed on.

"How was your training?"

"Enlightening." Lily replied, sprouting his wings to jump up to the counter. "I would be happy to spar with you any time, Erza." The redhead sat in the seat beside him with a small smile.

"Likewise." She turned to Mirajane and tapped the counter. "Is there any more strawberry cake?"

"Of course!" The white-haired mage replied, turning to Lily for his request. Though, she already knew what he wanted.

"A kiwi juice, if you have it."

"I'll be right back." She said, heading into the kitchen to fetch their requests.

The sound of the guild door opening again, made Erza and Lily turn, observing as Gray and Juvia returned from their job as well. For once, the black-haired ice mage actually had his clothes on too, which was a plus.

"Gray-sama looked so manly slaying that beast! Oh, and saving all of those villagers!" The water mage cried, clasping her hands together in front of her as they walked inside. The hearts in her eyes were very much evident as she gazed upon her companion. "Juvia was most impressed!"

For the most part, Gray ignored her nonsensical ramblings about his own manliness and power, instead searching the guild for something or someone in particular. "Oi! Where's Natsu?" He shouted out, his fists turning into ice as the anger presented itself on his face.

"Gray! Come up here and fight me!" The pink-haired mage grinned, holding his fists up in a fighting position. Happy copied his posture as well. Gray pointed up at him in fury and irritation.

"Pay me back the jewels you owe us!" He scowled, and Natsu cocked his head. Lucy tried waving her hands in front of her, sweating nervously.

"It was an accident, we swear!"

"Eh? What jewels?" Natsu questioned, looking more than just a little confused.

"Don't play stupid, baka! You set that whole village on fire! Juvia and I had to spend the rest of our time putting out your mess! Thanks to that, the mayor decided to take the damages out of our reward." Gray's fingers slowly began to ice up, until his arms were covered in the pale covering of his magic. "Come down here so I can kick your ass!"

"Like hell you'll kick my ass! Alright, if a fight's what you want!" Natsu grinned, unhooking his legs from the chandelier and dropping to the floor besides Lucy. She tried grabbing onto his arm to stop him but he simply grinned and stood facing Gray. During some point in the conversation, Gray had lost his clothes, and Lucy demanded he put them back on. Juvia, of course, was not pleased with Lucy's intrusion, remarking that her 'love rival' should stop gawking at her beloved Gray-sama.

Lily glanced at Erza as she sighed with a darkening look. Standing, she made her way over to the two feuding mages, clearly intending to stop whatever massive damage they were about to cause.

Further down the way, Lily saw the Master sitting in his usual spot on the counter, observing his children with fondness. Of course, he was unconcerned with the fight that broke out in the middle of the hall. Such things were commonplace, after all.

While Erza was dealing with those two, Mirajane returned with their requests, placing the box of kiwi juice in front of the exceed and the cake on the counter where Erza had sat. Seeing the spectacle of Natsu and Gray about ready to kill each other made her smile. "Ah, it looks like everyone has returned from their jobs. Oh, except Levy and Gajeel."

Lily perked up at the new topic of discussion. Obviously, she hadn't mentioned them on accident. Seeing that spark of interest behind Mira's sweet smile made him grin. It seemed he'd been right when he'd seen her as a potential ally for his personal objective.

"Yes, it would seem so." He replied, taking a few sips of his drink. "I wonder how they're getting on."

"I would think quite well, considering all the time they spent together working for the Council." Mirajane said, leaning closer over the counter. "They've become quite a close  _team_  since Fairy Tail disbanded."

Lily chuckled, not missing her subtle pry for more information. After all, if there was anyone in Fairy Tail who knew the most about Levy and Gajeel's relationship, or lack thereof, it was him. And seeing as neither party was much for talking about their personal feelings to others, no one really knew where they stood with each other.

"I'd have to agree. Though, not as close as I suspect they'd both like to be." He implied, and she cocked a brow, processing that small tidbit of information.

"Hmm, that's too bad. Perhaps they simply need a little push in the right direction. Say…some more quality time together?"

"I'm thinking quite the same." Lily nodded, observing as Erza smacked the heads of Gray and Natsu together, making them fall to the floor limply. She scolded them for almost causing more damage to the guild, prompting Lucy to hide behind other guild members so she wouldn't face her wrath as well.

"You know, I think Gajeel mentioned wanting to go on a job somewhere cold." Lily continued. "Somewhere cold with no trees around."

Mirajane peered into his face, trying to contemplate the meaning behind his statement, before smiling widely. Satisfied she'd picked up the hint, Lily continued to drink his kiwi juice, feeling quite content.

She chuckled, reaching under the counter for some of the job postings that she saved for specific people. "You know, I think I may have the perfect job for him once he gets back."

"How coincidental." The exceed remarked, finishing up his drink. He glanced at Erza's cake to make sure it was still intact. He didn't want to be caught in the crossfire should anything happen to it while she wasn't looking.

Mira smiled and was about to turn away, but he raised a paw. "One more thing, Mira."

"Yes?"

"Change my wager from the end of the year to the end of next month." He dug around in his pouch for a handful of jewels, handing them to the bartender. She sent him an amused look.

"You seem rather confident for nothing having happened yet. The soonest other wagers are for Halloween." Regardless, she placed the coins under the counter and made a few adjustments to the betting board she had concealed from the eyes of the rest of the guild.

In reply, Lily shrugged with a grin. "I've always been able to trust in those two."

* * *

Gajeel stirred from his rest, feeling the sensation of a hand on his arm, shaking him gently from sleep. It was small and warm, and he knew who it was before even catching her sweet scent or opening his eyes.

"-jeel. Gajeel, wake up." Levy said, and he groaned.

"You finished already?" He muttered, slowly opening his eyes against the sun still present in the sky. The bluenette was knelt beside him, all of her reference books and such tucked under her arm or in her bag.

"Not quite, there's still much more to do. But it's a little after noon. Let's go get lunch and we can head back to the hotel if you want."

"Sure." He said, standing and following after the script mage. He hadn't fully woken up yet, but as they returned to the town, the physical activity began shaking the drowsiness away.

"How much do you think you've got done?" Gajeel questioned, tucking his hands in his pockets. Levy looked rather pleased, but she only shrugged.

"I'm about a quarter of the way through. I've gotta say, though," She muttered, glancing at the leather-bound tome in her arms, "this thing is getting stranger and stranger the further I get."

"Hmm? How's that?" He raised a brow, staring at her quizzically. She met his gaze evenly.

"Like I said before, it's filled with rambling about death, and nothing else. I thought that the author would write about something else soon enough, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I've never seen something written in such a way." She placed a hand on her chin, her brow furrowing in thought. "Well, that's not quite true…"

"Eh? You ain't making sense." Gajeel cocked his head, sparing a glance at the book in question. The dark leather gave no indication that it was special or rare in any way. It just looked like a plain old book. Levy was quiet a moment, trying to recall where she'd read something similar.

"I feel like I've encountered this type of writing before, but I can't for the life of me remember where or when…" She murmured, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "It feels so familiar…"

She fell silent after that, trying to recall the memory that refused to present itself. The dragon slayer yawned, stretching his hands above his head to pop the joints back into place. Sleeping against the tree hadn't been the best idea after all, he thought with a wince.

"Well, I'm sure you'll think of it eventually, shorty." Gajeel replied confidently, having complete faith that whatever was hidden in the bluenette's mind would come to light at some point. She was smart like that. At least, he believed so. And his instincts had yet to be proven false.


	5. Chapter 5

They decided to return to the same cafe they'd eaten before for lunch, and Levy brought the book in with her. The waitress had to get them a bigger table to make room for all of the reference books that Levy spread out, leaving barely any room for them to eat.

Gajeel found that she wasn't one for conversation once she was in her little zone, and sighed deeply. He should have known this would happen, really. If her normal book-reading habits were anything to go by, he obviously should have expected it to be worse while she was working. Sometimes he had to physically block the page with his hand before she'd respond to a single word he said. After awhile, he simply gave up and went back to eating his meal.

Levy would muttered unintelligible things every once in awhile, scribbling something down or crossing a few lines out. From observation, he marveled at just how much back and forth there seemed to be in translation. He didn't have the patience to keep going back to fix the same thing over and over again. It looked mind-numbing.

Long after he'd finished his food, Gajeel resorted to simply sit and watch her pore over the book, taking occasional bites of her sandwich when she remembered it was there. Not once did her eyes stray from the leather book or her reference ones.

The bluenette looked completely in another world of her own, which brought a mischievous idea to the dragon slayer's mind. Grinning, he leaned forward, resting his head on his hand, an elbow propped on the table.

"Hey, shrimp. We should just head back to Magnolia right now and bring that book with us. What do you say?"

"Sounds great." She muttered, no indication in her eyes that she was aware of what he was saying to her. His grin widened. Good. She was oblivious.

"Gihee. You know, I've thought about dyeing my hair green. What are your thoughts?"

"Please don't." She replied, and he raised a brow. Hmm. It seemed she would still answer questions honestly, but didn't realize she was even doing so. Perfect.

"Do you like it when I call you shrimp?"

"Yeah, sometimes."

"What about shorty?"

"I guess."

Her pen never stopped writing across the page of her notes, circling and drawing connections to things he couldn't see. Though, he'd found his new favorite past time. Suddenly, he wasn't so bored.

A question came to mind that he'd always wondered about, and he cocked an eyebrow. "So, got your eyes set on anyone in particular?"

"Mhmm." That monotone in her voice never changed.

"Eh? Who is it then?" His curiosity got the better of him, and he crossed his arms with a smirk. For the first time since they'd sat down, she tensed, the pen in her hand ceasing movement. Eyes glued to the page, she said nothing, and Gajeel frowned, thinking that maybe he'd offended her or made her angry. "Oi, forget it, shorty. I wasn't serious. You don't have to-"

"Sólmáni…" She whispered, her grip on the pen tightening, turning her knuckles white. Utterly confused, he cocked his head.

 _Who the fuck is Sólmáni?_  He thought to himself, trying to recall such a name from those who were members of the guild. When that turned up empty, he thought about all of the people in Magnolia who's name he knew. Maybe it was one of those guys who worked at the book store?

"Is he in the guild? What's he look like?" He began to question, suddenly very angry that he didn't know who the hell she was talking about. And he didn't know  _why_  that made him so angry. And not knowing why he was angry just made him angrier. It wasn't like Levy was  _his_  or anything. Even if he wanted her to be.

"Gajeel." She said, her voice shaking a little. She still didn't look up from the book, but he continued on regardless. For some reason he couldn't get over this small revelation, no matter how much he tried to shake it.

"Don't tell me he's from Blue Pegasus or some shit like that, because there ain't no way-"

"Gajeel!" Levy cut him off, finally staring up at him with wide and frightened eyes. He stopped, caught off guard by her terrified expression, one brow raised in surprise. "Sòlmáni…it's the name in the book…"

As quickly as it originally flared up, his anger faded, leaving him slightly ashamed to have come off as being jealous in the first place.

"Oh…well, what does that mean?"

She suddenly closed the book and began gathering all of her reference books around her, pulling them to her chest. Gajeel frowned again, trying to get her to make sense. Something was wrong but she wouldn't say anything.

"Oi, Lev, talk to me. What's going on?"

She stood with all of her things, heading towards the door. Growling, he tossed some jewels onto the table to cover their meal, rushing after the bluenette pushing through the front door. Coming up beside her, he moved to stand in her way, stopping her frantic steps back towards the bookstore.

"What the fuck is going on?" He demanded, gripping her shoulders and refusing to let go until he got some answers. Levy gulped and glanced around, as if making sure no one could hear them. His curiosity and his doubts rose up. If Levy was worried about something, especially having to do with books, that gave him cause to hesitate just a little.

"This book…I know what it is…And it's not good at all." Scowling, Gajeel shook her gently. He was tired of this bullshit. Why couldn't she just tell him what he wanted to know?

"Spit it out, already. What is it?"

Her answer was barely over a whisper. "It's…it's the Codex of Death."

* * *

Before Levy agreed to explain any further, she demanded they go back to the hotel where they would be out of earshot of anybody in the vicinity. Begrudgingly, Gajeel agreed, if only to get more information out of the worried script mage walking in front of him.

Finally, they returned to their room and locked the door behind them, with Levy going over to the table to turn on the light.

"So what the hell is this Codex of Death?" He muttered, crossing his arms as he sat at the end of one of the beds. Levy sat herself in the chair, opening the cover of the book gently, with a newfound respect and fear.

"The Codex of Death is part of a set of books written over 500 years ago. No one knows who wrote them, but through studying another of the three, they were able to discern their true purpose."

She returned to the page she'd been working on at lunch, holding up the book to see the words better. "'By tongue of sun and moon, and blood of magic born, may Sòlmáni rise from death, bringing the second beginning to those worthy, presenting the gate to mortality's end upon those unclean.'" She recited, finally raising her eyes up to Gajeel. "When read alongside the other two books-the Codex of Life and the Scroll of Absolute God-the spell will resurrect the dark mage it described."

"How in the hell did that old guy get his hands on this?" He questioned, staring at the leather-bound Codex in her hands. This was some pretty serious stuff. And here he thought they'd translate some stupid cookbook or play. "And how do you know what it is?"

"I don't know where Mr. Russo got it, but I intend to find out." She shook her head then. "Remember back when Councilman Warrod asked me to organize the archives?"

Oh, he remembered. It was the time he hadn't seen her for a week, which hadn't been the most pleasant experience. He'd had to find other things to do besides teasing her relentlessly while she tried to work, Lily had rather unkindly told him to get his act together because he would no longer tolerate his apparently bitchy attitude.

"Yeah, sure." He replied, shrugging nonchalantly.

"While I was doing that, I found the Codex of Life in one of the restricted sections. I asked Councilman Warrod what it was, and he told me everything. They found it years ago, and have kept it behind closed doors so the three books would never again be reunited." She stared down at the cover again, a strange expression lighting her face. "We should send it to the Council. It'll be safer there."

"Well, what are we gonna tell that crazy gramps?" Gajeel asked, gesturing behind him vaguely. Then, after a moment, he grinned. "Gihee, maybe he'll just forget we ever existed and we can leave."

"No! That's stealing! I don't want my reputation as a translator to be ruined over that." She glared at him. How could he even suggest such a thing?

"Alright, alright…no need to shout, shrimp." He held his hands up defensively, warding off her anger and attempting to calm her down. She sighed, standing from her seat and stuffing the book into her bag, safely tucked beside her reference books.

"I'll figure out something to say to Mr. Russo. I can't exactly tell him what it is…but I'm sure he'll understand if I explain." She gave a small smile, straightening out her clothing and heading towards the door.

Gajeel followed after her, wondering just what they had gotten themselves into.

* * *

"Oho! Welcome, welcome!" The old man greeted, pausing in shelving some books to approach the two as they entered the cluttered shop. Levy clutched the leather book in her hands, staring down at the small man. "What can I do for the two of you?"

"Mr. Russo, I've got some news on the book you requested I translate."

"Hmm? I don't recall needing any of my books translated. Are you sure you've got the right place?" He tugged at his beard idly, cocking his head to the side.

Having been prepared for this scenario, she pulled out the poster for the job once more and tapped the front. "This one, sir. We came in a few days ago to pick it up." Then, she waggled the book in her hands, catching his attention. Clarity returned to his eyes, and he clapped his hands together.

"Ah, yes! I do seem to remember now, oho! But pardon me, what was your name again?"

"Levy." She sighed obviously, once again wishing that anyone else but him had requested this job. If Gajeel hadn't known how serious Levy was taking the situation, he would have laughed at her defeated posture.

She knew he didn't mean to be so frustrating, but really, he wasn't making this any easier on her part. Especially considering what she planned on saying next. "Sir, I believe this book…would be very bad to keep in your shop."

"Oh? And why is that?" He questioned, gazing up at her readily. His honest and kind eyes were making her hesitate. How could she straight up lie to this man's face? It didn't feel right, but the alternative was out o the question. Before she decided to back out of her original plan, Gajeel stepped forwards, interrupting.

"It's filled with curse magic." He explained confidently, remembering the lie Levy had been crafting on their way to the store. "You've noticed the signs, right?"

Mr. Russo scratched at his forehead, thoroughly confused but trusting the two Fairy Tail mages. At least, for the time being. They seemed like honest people. "Signs? Like what?"

Pushing through with her resolve, Levy jumped in the conversation once more. It was better this way, anyways. "Well, sir, it details that wherever this book resides, the interior will forever be cursed to be an unorganized mess! And look around!" She gestured to the towers of books and the toppled piles still laying on the floor from where Gajeel had knocked a few down.

Mr. Russo's eyes widened, seeming to take in the appearance of his store for the first time. "Oh, so it appears you are correct! Now that you mention it, the piles never used to be so high…or so plentiful…" He muttered, thinking over this new revelation.

Levy continued. "Also, the owner of the book shall become very forgetful, or lose their train of thought often. Have you experienced anything like that?" Gajeel had to suppress a grin as the older man frowned, rubbing at his chin thoughtfully.

"I don't believe so…but perhaps it's only a matter of time before such things begin to occur." Levy suppressed a smile. Looks like he'd forgotten about all the times he'd forgotten about things. He looked up to the two mages, a resolute light in his eyes. "Very well. If you believe that this book is more trouble than it is worth, please, take it with you."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure it doesn't find it's way into anyone else's hands." The bluenette promised with a smile, happy that her plan had worked. Gajeel smirked beside her, watching the two converse.

"I thank you for your hard work." Mr. Russo bowed, then turned and weaved his way to the counter with the register. It was difficult to follow his path with all of the towers of books surrounding him. "Allow me to fetch your reward."

"But I-" Levy started, jumping slightly when Gajeel's hand covered her mouth, preventing her from saying anything more. She looked up at him in confusion, the rest of her sentence muffled behind his palm.

"Leave it, shrimp." He commanded. She frowned, pushing away at his hand gently.

"I didn't finish the job though. And we're taking the book with us-"

In reply, Gajeel simply shrugged, waiting for the old man to come back. "All the job description said was to translate the book. You did, so the job's done. Nothing said he had to keep it."

She puffed out her cheeks, crossing her arms over her chest. Of course, he was correct, and there was no way she was going to allow the old man to keep the dangerous book anyways. Regardless… "It doesn't feel right." She muttered with a sigh. Gajeel couldn't help but grin, and he placed one hand on her head, ruffling her blue locks.

"Gihee, don't forget you have rent to pay. You can't afford to be turning away jewels."

His words were true, but it didn't mean she had to like it. Mr. Russo returned with a canvas sack and gave it to Gajeel. "Your payment." He said, smiling with pleasure. "I thank you both for your services, oho! Have a safe trip back to wherever you came from!" He thanked, forgetting what guild they belonged to.

Saying their goodbyes, Gajeel and Levy exited the store, and they headed towards the hotel. It was getting rather late and there wouldn't be any trains back to Magnolia at this time of night back in Rosalia anyways.

The dragon slayer tucked the jewels into his bag, knowing that the weight indicated Mr. Russo had paid them much more than the posted reward. No doubt, he'd forgotten how much he'd offered for it, and simply chose a random amount as payment. Of course, if he told Levy that, she'd insist they march straight back into the store and return some of it. So he kept quiet.

"I'll contact Warrod and let him know that we're sending him the book. Hopefully he can arrange to have it stored safely." Levy remarked, leading the way down the road.

* * *

"Councilman Warrod, I'm sorry if I've interrupted anything. I needed to speak with you immediately." Levy spoke, watching as the tree-like features of her previous employer came into view. He peered into his own lacrima on the other side, skewing his face a bit on her own screen.

"Levy? I didn't expect to hear from you. A very unpleasant surprise." The old man said with a deep frown. Levy gulped, eyes widening. The last thing she wanted to do was anger someone of great power such as Warrod. Gajeel simply raised a brow, having a feeling he knew what was coming next.

"O-oh…I see. I know it's been some time since we've been in the Council and all-" She started, but was interrupted by his rousing cackle.

"It was a joke, a joke! Of course it is great to hear from you again." He cried in delight, finding humor in her worried expression. Finally, she smiled gently. It seemed some things didn't change. Gajeel approached her from behind, in view of the lacrima. Warrod paused a moment, then laughed nervously. "A-ah, wonderful to see you again as well, Gajeel…"

"Gihee, how goes it, tree gramps?" He grinned, but Levy interrupted their conversation before it went any further.

"Sir, if you don't mind I'd like to get onto why I've contacted you." She reached beside her and held up the leather book so he could see. "I was called for a translation job here in Bosco, and what he had for me turned out to be this."

Warrod placed a pair of spectacles over his eyes, peering into the lacrima at the object in her hand. "Oh my…I'm afraid I have no idea what you are holding." He admitted, and she sighed.

"It's the Codex of Death, sir. The second of the three books."

Warrod's eyes widened, removing his spectacles and rubbing his face. "My my. What a magnificent find, Levy. It's a good thing you were the one to find it. Sólmáni is not a force we want to take chances with."

"Who is this Soulman guy, or whatever his name is, anyway?" Gajeel interrupted, feeling more than just a little left out of the discussion. Levy turned to him.

"Sólmáni. He's a dark mage from centuries ago. They say-"

"Now, hold on right there." Warrod stopped her, looking gravely serious. Gajeel almost missed his stupid jokes that no one understood, compared to this version of him. "I'm afraid I was not entirely truthful with you when you inquired about the Codex of Life during your time here."

"What?" Levy questioned, confused by this. Warrod looked slightly ashamed by his deception, but continued nonetheless.

"The Sólmáni to whom you refer was indeed a dark mage, but he was alive much earlier than a few centuries ago. More accurately, he was one of the first known users of magic."

"He's a mage of origin?" Levy asked in awe, her grip around the book tightening. Gajeel noticed this, but felt just as surprised as she.

"To be precise, he is  _the_ mage of origin. The very first. His magic is that of creation and destruction. The ability to give and take life as he sees fit. At least, that's what we can gather from what little evidence we have. Most scholars believe he was closely associated with The One Magic, or even born from it." Warrod nodded slowly. "Very few writings were ever found of that time, but the legends say he was the one who used The One Magic by his own will, supplying the world with magic by his gifts and blessings."

"Is there any truth in those stories?" Levy wondered, having never heard them before. It was difficult to grasp the concept of a single man being responsible for all the world's magic. "Did he create magic? Or give it to other people?"

"While there is no definitive proof of anything substantial, many believe the more simple explanation for this, which is that Sólmáni's descendants inherited their father's magic, and passed it down to their children, grandchildren, and so on." Warrod explained.

"What happened?" The Iron Dragon Slayer huffed, interested in the end of this guy's story. That was much more relevant to their situation now.

"Again, there is no hard evidence of this." Warrod pushed, not wanting any of what he was about to say to set in theoretical stone in their minds. "Legends describe that Sólmáni lived for centuries, watching the world slowly accept the magic he supposedly created. But, as having an abundance of power tends to do, he began to use his own gifts to benefit only himself.

"Sólmáni was a very proud man, and not one to be crossed. Still, there were some foolish enough to do it. He would strike down entire countries who did not swear fealty to him. His power grew, and he saw himself as God. There are theories that this prompted the creation of God Slayer Magic, as well, though there is no proof."

"A God, huh?" Gajeel said, cocking an eyebrow. "So, how'd he die?"

"They say that during Sólmáni's lifetime he crossed paths with Zeref, who struck him down with his own magic. Unfortunately, this caused his followers to make him a sort of martyr, worshipping and praising his existence. He was buried in an unknown location, the tomb sealed."

"So, no one knows where the tomb is?" Levy clarified, her eyes having gone wide from the terrifying description of such a being. Had she known about all of this the first time she'd inquired, she never would have taken a closer look at it again. He appeared thoughtful a moment, then shook his head.

"I'm afraid the location is actually very common knowledge." Levy's eyes widened, and she gripped the book tighter.

"R-really?" Her voice quivered in fear. Gajeel narrowed his gaze, crossing his arms defensively. Before they could say anything else though, Warrod burst into frivolous laughter, wiping a tear from his eye.

"A joke, my dear! It's a joke!"

Cheeks red with embarrassment of having been played, Levy sighed inaudibly. She'd forgotten how annoying the Councilman could be. "So no one knows?"

"That is correct. As his worshippers slowly died out, or converted to Zeref's cause, the location of the tomb was forgotten with time. After centuries of being lost, I'd imagine it is far beneath the earth at this point."

"Ah, that's a relief." Levy sighed, a small smile gracing her lips. The situation had seemed so dire, so imminent, but now she could let out her pent up breath. "So, we're in no real danger right now?"

"Heavens, Levy. Simply being in possession of that book is dangerous, but unless someone has found the tomb, there is no chance of Sólmáni being resurrected."

"Hang on a sec." Gajeel remarked, holding up his hands to pause the conversation. "So where'd the three books come from?"

Warrod shrugged from his place in the lacrima. "No one quite knows. The earliest mentions of the three texts are from around X240, and even then the descriptions are vague and answer no helpful questions."

"Great." Gajeel scoffed, crossing his arms in irritation. "So some worshipper of this guy probably wrote the damn things hoping his great and powerful God would return to him, yeah?"

"Your guess is a well founded one." Warrod admitted, closing his eyes. "Beyond speculation, there is no further information I could give you at this point. I'm afraid we are still in the dark about much of those books."

Levy spoke up again, still holding the book. "I'm going to send a messenger by guarded carriage with the book in the morning. I imagine it should arrive within a week."

Warrod nodded slowly, accepting her plan. "I will personally oversee that it is stored and protected properly upon it's arrival."

"Thank you, Councilman." Levy smiled, waving her goodbye. Warrod said his goodbyes and disappeared from the Lacrima, the faint glow returning to a flat, glassy surface once more.

"Well, that takes care of that." Gajeel sighed, walking over to the bed and flopping onto the comforter. Getting comfy, he placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, quite content to simply lay there after a long morning of training.

"You're just going to sleep after hearing all of that?" Levy asked incredulously, finding it difficult to even let go of the leather book in her hands. Honestly, she'd never understand how that man's mind worked. Protecting her from danger one moment, then teasing and annoying her the next. The raven-haired man cracked open an eye, grinning.

"You bet, shrimp. Why don't you join me?" He mockingly patted the space beside him, chuckling at the red color that swept her cheeks. She was so predictable sometimes.

"H-how could I rest when I should be arranging the transport? Stupid Gajeel." She muttered, turning and entering the bathroom.

"Gihee…" Gajeel laughed under his breath, amused by her reaction. There'd been a hint of sincerity in his offer, but honestly he knew she'd never accept. Eh, it was worth a shot anyways. Totally worth it after seeing her face flush like that.


	6. Chapter 6

Early the next morning, Gajeel woke from his slumber feeling rather sore. He supposed that was to be expected though. After spending hours sitting stock still under a waterfall, the pain in his spine reminded him why he should have chosen a more beneficial training method. The rather cheap mattresses of the hotel they stayed in weren't doing anything for him either, but there was nothing to do about that.

As usual, he was awake before the bluenette laying sprawled out in the other bed. Her small limbs were spread at all angles, the comforter tangled and kicked aside haphazardly. He smirked, not surprised by her careless sleep habits. For being so neat and tidy all the time, her subconscious desire to occupy as much space as possible while resting was rather funny.

Silently, so as not to wake her, Gajeel rose from his bed with a yawn, making his way over to his bag and taking it to the bathroom. He changed quickly, taking care of his morning needs before returning to the bedroom.

Levy was up and rummaging in her bag for her own clothes, her back turned towards him. He stopped, feeling a bit of heat go to his cheeks at the sight. The bluenette usually wore a tank top and sleep shorts to bed, and last night had been no different. As she leaned over her bag, set on one of the chairs in the room, her white tattoo peeked over the back of her tank top, her back slightly arched to comfortably lean down and get her clothes.

The shorts rode up slightly, revealing much of her pale legs and accentuating what he believed to be her best asset. The lines of her underwear were faintly visible even from this distance, tantalizingly so.

Her hair was tousled, tangled and wild from tossing and turning in her sleep. Of course, Gajeel's eyes roamed down the curve of her back and lower still to those beautiful, exposed thighs without really thinking much besides how he wanted to touch her.

She held up a shirt from her bag, inspecting it and debating whether she wanted to wear it that day. Realizing that he was openly staring at her, Gajeel clenched the fist resting at his side, biting the inside of his mouth to distract him from the beauty oblivious to his gaze. It somewhat worked, his mind now registering the pain as his teeth bit into his own flesh.

He stood frozen in place, not sure whether to go back into the bathroom without her notice, or speak and make himself known. But before he could make a decision, Levy turned and laid the shirt on the bed, her gaze lifting to him standing there in the doorway as she did so.

"Good morning." She gave a small smile, unperturbed by him seeing her in her nightwear. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen her in such a state many times before while leading their unit in the Council. In fact, it no longer fazed the bluenette much. She secretly reveled in his occasional glances, thinking she didn't notice them. But, oh, she did.

"Yeah…morning." He muttered, finally stepping all the way through the doorway and over to his bed. He tossed his bag onto the covers and sat beside it, rummaging inside for his headband.

"I think that we'll send the book through Rosalia's mail service instead of Birchwood's. It's a bigger city, hopefully with more people to defend a guarded caravan." She thought aloud, slipping her shirt of choice over her tank top and taking out a pair of pants to wear.

"Is the armored transport all that necessary?" The dragon slayer questioned, feeling as though this all seemed over the top for a book. Sure, it was filled with part of the spell to summon a millennia-old mage who had the power to destroy the world, but still a book nonetheless.

To his question, Levy shrugged, taking the pants and moving to the bathroom to change into them. "I don't want to take any chances. I know it seems kind of a long shot, but you just never know. Better safe than sorry."

"I guess you're right." He muttered, reaching down to tug on his boots. She made sense, he supposed. And there was no harm in a bit of extra protection.

They got ready for the day, gathering the rest of their things and double checking that they'd gotten everything from the room. Heading downstairs, Levy paid the front receptionist for their stay and they set out back towards Rosalia within the hour. The two companions were silent, though it wasn't uncomfortable. After such a large bombshell from the night before, they had too much on their mind and simply didn't speak it aloud.

Levy couldn't quite wrap her head around finding the second of the three books having to do with Sólmáni. Mages of Origin, destruction and new life, world domination, Zeref…there was so much to take in all at once, it left her dizzy. As t hey walked, she constantly reached into the satchel slung across her body, holding the Codex of Death inside. Her fingers would graze the cover, as if having to be reassured every few minutes that it was still there. It was a strange sensation. She couldn't stop herself from touching it, feeling the worn leather idly as they traveled.

She wondered how confused her companion still was, considering she was a lot more knowledgable about these things than he was. Levy hoped that he wasn't too frustrated, or, was regretting accompanying her on this mission. She had been enjoying herself with him around, having someone to talk to and discuss her work with, regardless if he understood or not. At least he made an effort to understand, unlike Jet or Droy, who would fall asleep rather quickly when she went into long explanations of what things meant.

Her eyes drifted to Gajeel a few times, whose sight was set on the path before them. She'd noticed this morning he seemed to be acting a little weird, but maybe she was just imagining it. Perhaps the events from the previous day were just now beginning to hit him? It was a possibility. Still, he seemed unusually quiet. He hadn't even teased her once that morning, something she was lucky to go half an hour without on a regular basis.

Not that she missed it…

Levy's cheeks flushed, realizing that she did. Damn her. Never would she say that out loud. It would only add fuel to his desire to make fun of her.

Gajeel, oblivious to her inner thoughts, tried keeping his gaze set firmly on the road in front of him, lest he find himself staring at her some more. He'd already shamelessly checked her out that morning, though without really meaning to…Was that any better, once he thought about it? Not really, he had to admit.

God, any more of this and he'd be on par with Juvia's creepiness. The water mage was a good friend of his and all, someone he trusted more than others, but if there was one thing he didn't want, it was her innate ability to stalk and ogle without shame to rub off on him.

 _Just stop thinking about her._  He thought, rolling his eyes and inwardly shaking his head. It couldn't be that hard. All he had to do was think about Panther Lily, and how far he'd come in his training.  _Yeah, just think about that._

The cat had come a long way since joining him after the events of Edolas. The amount of time he could remain in his battle form had lengthened exponentially, rendering him able to basically return to his former constitution most of the day, if he wanted to. Though, there were times when he preferred to change back into his small cat form. It was easier for him to hold, requiring no magic or concentration.

Of course, the big bad cat was still afraid of thunderstorms. Grinning, Gajeel recalled the last big storm that had rolled through Magnolia and how Lily, who had still been in his battle form, was startled into his cat body by a loud crack of thunder. Immediately, he'd hidden under the sheets of his bed, shivering until Gajeel stayed by his side for comfort. Luckily, none of the other men of their unit had witnessed the event, and so Lily was able to maintain his tough persona even still.

Lily would die before admitting that he was afraid of a little thunder. And only him and Levy really knew about it.

Once, when they'd been camped out with their unit, a sudden thunderstorm had rolled through, and of course the exceed had tried taking shelter within the tents. By chance, he had ducked into Levy's tent, who'd been reading a book in her spare time. When Gajeel had come looking for his cat companion, he'd found him curled up in Levy's lap, sleeping peacefully and without fear. The sight of his partner nestled against Levy's chest like that, with the bluenette shushing him to be quiet so he wouldn't be woken up, was something else.

With a scowl he realized that, once again, his thoughts had drifted to Levy, rather unwillingly. Fuck, this was getting out of hand. A glance to his side revealed that Levy looked just as caught up in her thoughts as him. At least she didn't suspect anything was on his mind.

The rest of their trip consisted of their plaguing thoughts, never spoken aloud, and they reached Rosalia after a few hours of walking.

* * *

"Rest assured, Ma'am, we'll get this to the Council for you, safe and sound." The messenger tipped his hat, sending Levy a reassuring grin. The young man was young and bright, and gave off that trustworthy aura, which was why Levy had chosen him out of those available to make the trip. He stuffed the book into his satchel carefully, mindful of it's age, then reached out to accept the payment of jewels from her.

"Thank you. Please have Councilman Warrod contact me once he receives it." Levy said, feeling slightly uncomfortable as she gave him the book. Her smile faltered minutely, but schooled carefully so as not to be noticed. A piece of her felt…gone, like she was missing something, yet she couldn't figure out why that was. It perplexed her, she with a frown and a shake of her head, the bluenette ignored that notion for now.

She glanced at the transport that she'd so quickly put together; it was small, though that was to be expected on such a short notice, especially this early in the morning. Riding inside the car was three other armed guards, wearing the insignia of Rosalia's government: a single coiled rose around a gleaming sword.

"Will do!" The messenger replied, hopping inside the car and shutting the door behind him, giving her a simple wave as the driver pulled away, taking them out of sight after a moment.

Gajeel uncrossed his arms and sighed, pushing off of the wall he'd been leaning against. "Ready to go home, shrimp?" He wasn't looking forward to the train ride that came next, but he missed the guild, even after only a few days of being away. There was something about the rough and tumble atmosphere that attracted him.

"Mhm!" She hummed, turning to him with a smile, her earlier discomfort still lingering but pushed to the back of her mind. She grinned at his returning scowl, knowing that he would rather just walk the way back to the guild. "It's only a few hours. You'll be fine."

"A few fucking hours…" He grumbled, his sour expression never shifting as they headed towards the train station.

* * *

They arrived right before the next train for Magnolia was about to depart, and were somehow able to purchase tickets to board. Not two minutes after taking their seats in the compartment, they felt the large vehicle lurch forward beneath them, and Gajeel's nausea instantly began to rear it's ugly head. Levy would forever marvel at just how quickly his condition seemed to take affect.

The dragon slayer was reduced to the pitiful state he'd been in on their way there. Levy smiled sadly, glad that she didn't have to deal with such an unfortunate affliction. As before, she doused her headband in her perfume and gave it to him. He seemed to calm down somewhat, enough to drift off into a light sleep.

Levy sighed, returning her attention to the passing scenery as the train traveled. They knee-deep into the hot summer months, and the bluenette was disappointed it wasn't fall yet. The forest of trees would no doubt have been a collage of oranges and reds and yellows once August and September came around. The light and dark hues of green that they wore now were still beautiful, but there was something about Autumn that simply struck her speechless. Perhaps that's why her orange dress was her favorite, she mused to herself.

Her gaze shifted to Gajeel, who muttered and shifting in his sleep, still clutching her headband close to his nose. She smiled, stifling the laugh that threatened to bubble up. He looked so innocent and calm when he slept, quite a difference to that stoic frown that always seemed to mark his face. Well, when he wasn't teasing her of course. Then his amused grin would show itself.

Deciding that she should probably stop staring at him while he slept, since the thought was quite creepy, she pulled out a book from her bag and opened it to the marked page. Lucy had loaned it to her awhile back, though Levy hadn't gotten around to reading it until recently. She'd had a stack of other books she'd wanted to read first.

Tucking her feet beneath her, Levy leaned against the window and propped the book in her lap, finding a comfortable position to read from for the rest of the ride home.


	7. Chapter 7

Levy chuckled as Gajeel stumbled in a rush out the train doors, stepping foot onto the gloriously stable and unmoving dirt of Magnolia. The moment he passed the threshold of the vehicle, his stomach settled into compliance once again, and the headache quickly dissipated.

"Maybe next time you take a faraway job, you should invite Wendy. She can help your nausea, can't she?" Levy said, adjusting the bag on her shoulders and the book in her arms she'd finished on the train.

"Nah, the kid does her own thing. Besides, her exceed is a killjoy. Ruins my good mood sometimes." Gajeel replied gruffly, remembering the few times he'd offered to help train the Sky Dragon Slayer before. Carla always responded with the same haughty sniff and sour expression, humming in disapproval. Shaking his head, he went to hand the bluenette her headband back. Levy went to reach for it but hesitated, flashing him a cheeky smile.

"You keep it. You probably need it more than I do anyways. Besides, I've got plenty at home."

"I ain't gonna wear it." He reasoned. "It's yours."

Her amusement didn't waver. "If it helps you so much on train rides, just keep it."

He scowled, now eyeing the orange flowery pattern it sported with sudden aversion. He had quite a few of his own, much thicker ones, mind you. But they were more neutral colors and patterns, fitting more his style. There was not a chance in hell he'd be caught wearing this blatantly girly thing anywhere. Sure, it smelled nice, but really. The shrimp should know better.

Levy turned and continued her way towards the guild hall before he could retort. Mumbling under his breath, Gajeel reluctantly stuffed the peppermint-scented ribbon back into his pocket and tromped after her. Her stubbornness was growing to be just as difficult as his.

* * *

Even from down the street, Gajeel and Levy could hear the ruckus coming from the guild hall. Glass breaking, wood splintering, people yelling and cursing. Someone was laughing rather raucously somewhere in the mix. Magnolia residents passing them on the street took one look at the guild markers on their body and chuckled quietly to themselves, having grown used to the commotions the guild seemed to cause. Levy glanced at Gajeel, who looked to be in a better mood now that they were home. He caught her gaze and grinned back.

"Gihee, doesn't sound like anything's changed at all." He commented as they stepped closer to the imposing building settled at the very end of the street. Levy sighed, already seeing people milling about from inside the doors of the hall.

"Makes you wonder how the people of Magnolia tolerate us so well. You'd think the mayor would kick us out at some point."

"They'd have a tough time of it." Gajeel promised, flashing yet another grin in her direction. Shaking her head in amusement, Levy reached forward and pushed the doors open, revealing the usual chaos inside.

They stopped just inside the doorway, watching events as they unfolded before them.

"Love rival!" Juvia was shouting, chasing Lucy around the tables, wielding a steel fork. "Juvia sees how you look at Gray-sama when you think she isn't looking!"

"It's not like that at all, I swear! Just listen to me!" The blonde was trying to defend, waving her hands around in vain to ward off the water mage's advances. She was gaining ground, however. "Kyaaa! My shirt!" Lucy yelled, trying to hold up the shredded remains of her top when the bluenette got too close. How in the world could a fork do so much damage?

"Juvia will not fall for your lies!"

"Who dared to destroy my cake!? Erza drew her sword, slicing the wooden table in half as guild members scrambled away screaming. Splinters flew in all directions, a loud crack resounding around the hall from the impact of her blade. Her face was covered by her hair, but her shoulders heaved up and down in anger. The redhead requipped her Heaven's Wheel Armor, weapons pointing all sorts of directions. "Come forward! Reveal yourself!"

"Eh? What was that?" Natsu stood suddenly from his table, leaning across it to growl at Gray. The ice mage responded in kind, though meeting Natsu's frown of disapproval with a smirk of satisfaction.

"You heard me right."

"Say it again! I dare you." The pink-haired mage demanded, raising his fists. Gray crossed his arms, swaggering away in a self-important way.

"Heh, I'd beat you in a race around Magnolia any day." He proclaimed.

"Ha! Let's go, then! I'll take you down!" Both mages stood and ran out the doors past Levy and Gajeel, who had to sidestep their way out of their paths. Angrily, Gajeel turned and shook his fist at the two mages.

"Oi! Watch where you're going!" He yelled after the running mages, who ignored him and continued their route down the main street of the city.

The two made their way deeper into the guild, with Levy searching the faces for her two team members. Jet and Droy were nowhere in sight. She pouted, wondering what they were up to. Though her disappointment didn't last long, as something winged flew towards them and landed softly at their feet.

"Gajeel." The exceed greeted, crossing his arms much as his partner now did. The rest of his hello was cut short, as the bluenette beside him rushed forwards.

"Lily! It's been so long since I've seen you!" Levy crouched and threw her arms around the cat, who's eyes widened with surprise. She nuzzled her face in close to his, reveling in his soft fur and warm body.

"It's good…to see…you too…L-Levy…" He managed to grind out. The bluenette's hug crushed him in her arms, who was surprisingly stronger than she looked, and he struggled to breathe. She didn't seem to notice the distress she caused him, as she didn't loosen her embrace.

"Gihee, don't choke him, shrimp." Gajeel chuckled, poking her in the side. She jumped, relieving the pressure around Lily's body enough so he could escape from her hold. He lit back onto the floor, holding his small body to regain his breath.

"Oh, s-sorry…I just got too excited is all, hehe…" She scratched the back of her head sheepishly. Red crept onto her cheeks, no doubt from embarrassment. Lily cleared his throat.

"It's alright." His ears perked up, his head cocking to the side. "You two are back earlier than I expected. Did everything go well?" He pointedly looked at Gajeel with his last question, one eyebrow raised, and the dragon slayer 'hmph'ed and turned away, pretending not to notice.

_Damn cat should mind his own business…_

Lily sighed and rolled his eyes, not that he was surprised by Gajeel's attitude, really. He'd known the dragon slayer long enough to get used to his less-than-forthcoming disposition, much as he hated dealing with it sometimes. Not noticing any of this, however, Levy shrugged. "Yeah, it was fine. It didn't exactly turn out how I'd expected, but it's all worked out now."

"Hmm. I see." Lily's eyes never strayed from Gajeel, who was making a point not to look at him. After a moment, the exceed sighed, then summoned his wings and flapped into the air, hovering at their heights. "I spoke to Mira earlier, and she mentioned having another job waiting for you. You should go talk to her."

With that, Panther Lily flew off towards the bar, obviously expecting them to follow. Surprised by this unexpected development, Gajeel and Levy shared a look before heading off towards where the cat had gone.

* * *

"Oh, Levy. Gajeel. It's nice to see you two back home." Mirajane smiled warmly, setting down the tray of food she was about to take over to a table. The white-haired mage wiped her hands down on her apron, facing the both of them. "How did the job go?"

Levy shrugged, not quite sure what to say. She didn't want to spread the word about a dangerous book making its way to the Council, but lying wasn't really her strong suit either. "Not as I expected, but we got paid. So I guess it's complete."

Surprisingly, Mira didn't ask any more after that, nodding silently before reaching down for her job book, pulling out a specific poster from within.

"I'm sure Panther Lily already told you, but there's a client who asked for the two of you specifically." She held the ad out to Gajeel, who raised a brow but accepted it nonetheless.

He read it silently, eyes scanning the description with a neutral expression. Levy was too short to see what it said from the way he held it up, and she tried standing on her tiptoes to look. Realizing this, the dragon slayer lowered the paper to a height they could both see, and she eyed the request.

"An escort mission?" She questioned, turning to look at Mira. The barmaid simply nodded, waiting for Gajeel to finish reading. Once done, he placed the paper on the counter, crossing his arms.

"They asked for both of us directly?" He sounded surprised. For himself, not really. But Levy only strayed outside of her usual translation jobs to help Jet and Droy with more difficult ones on occasion. How this client had heard of her for an escort mission seemed strange.

In response, Mira only nodded again, her smile never wavering. "Yes, he needs protection relocating his magic shop from Peiora to Crescent Valley."

Levy frowned, calculating the distance and area between the two cities. "Wait…isn't the only path through-"

"A desert?" Mira guessed, her smile widening slightly. "Unfortunately, yes. And with the shifting balance of power for the cities in the desert, there's bound to be dangerous people wandering around. He wants to make sure nothing happens on the way to this new location."

"Sounds easy enough." Gajeel reasoned, shrugging nonchalantly. He'd been on stranger and tougher missions than that. He glanced down at Levy, who still looked a little unsure about all of this. "We don't have to take it if you don't want to, shorty. If your leg is still bothering you, we can-"

Levy looked up at his suggestion, frowning. "N-no, that's not it. It's practically all the way healed. I'll go, I don't mind."

"If you're sure."

Levy nodded one more time, a small smile returning to her face, and Gajeel returned the gesture, finally looking up to Mira. "Alright, we'll take it." Then, he turned to his exceed, who had been silent up until this point. "You going with us?"

Panther Lily shook his head, a sly smile beginning to light his lips. "Perhaps the next job. I promised Happy I'd help him train a little."

"That's nice of you, Lily." Levy commented. "How did that come about?"

The cat grinned fully. "He seems to feel pretty useless, seeing as Carla and I have another more convenient form we can turn to. Happy doesn't want to be left behind."

Gajeel eyed Lily with suspicion, wondering why the cat looked so damn smug and satisfied. Normally he jumped on the chance to accompany him on jobs. After becoming partners in the wake of the Edolas incident, they'd been nearly inseparable, training and finding respect in one another. There weren't many instances when the small black cat wasn't by his side. As of late, that didn't seem to be the case, especially when Levy was involved.

How coincidental.

Lily gave no indication as to his intentions, but the dragon slayer had a fairly good idea, considering his encouragement to accompany Levy on a job in the first place. Levy continued talking with the cat enthusiastically, and Mira was taking care of the paperwork for the job, while Gajeel simply leaned against the counter, unable to shake the feeling that he was being set up in some way.

* * *

"I just need to stop by Fairy Hills and pay the landlady before we head out." Levy said, pushing the door to the guild open, holding it out for Gajeel to follow behind her. The bluenette glanced up at the sky, noting the darker gray clouds beginning to occupy the atmosphere. The air felt humid and heavy, and that fresh scent of water hung around them. "We should hurry, so we don't get rained on."

"You go on ahead. I'm gonna swing by my place and grab some things." He replied, starting off in the opposite direction. Levy paused, and looked back to him before he walked too far ahead.

"Oh, ok! Should we meet somewhere after?" Gajeel paused, and looked over his shoulder at her.

"Sure, shrimp. The city square in an hour. Got it?" He grinned, then waved goodbye. She returned the gesture and spun to head towards Fairy Hills, the bag of jewels she'd gotten as a reward a reassuring weight in her bag. She'd split it with Gajeel, though he refused to take more than a quarter, stating she'd done all the work anyways.

The pressure that had settled on her shoulders from not having enough for rent was suddenly lifted, and Levy smiled. Her wounds were healing, and things were looking up.

"Levy!" She heard somewhere in front of her, two voices calling out. Looking around for the source, the bluenette spotted her two teammates, Jet and Droy, approaching from further on.

"Hi, guys!" She called, giving a wave and a smile. They approached and gave her a hug each.

"Aren't you supposed to be on a translation job?" Droy asked, cocking his head in confusion. Levy resisted the urge to sigh, wishing not everyone was so curious as to ask the same questions. She was tired of repeating herself, but it wasn't their fault.

"I was, but I finished early. Gajeel and I just got back a little while ago." She patted her bag with a smile. "I'm on my way to pay my rent before Ruchio comes after me." Levy chuckled, imagining the landlady pursuing her with a rolling pin or other available impromptu weapon.

"Well, it's great to see you back so soon." Droy said.

"Oh, how's your leg doing? Is it feeling better?" Jet crouched down and examined the bandaged limb.

"Yup, now it's just sore most of the time. I should be able to take off the bandage in a few days." She reassured. They appeared to be relieved at hearing that news.

"Great!" They replied with smiles, already having feeling bad for allowing her to get hurt in the first place. At least she didn't seem to be in much pain anymore.

"You should go on a job with us once you're up for it." The speedster suggested. He dug for something in his jacket pocket, finally producing a piece of paper to the bluenette. "We found this one for a translation, but the client is afraid of being attacked just for having the book, so it's a protection job too."

"What do you say?" Droy asked, smiling optimistically. Levy sighed, trying to keep up her cheerful smile. They wouldn't like her answer, she knew.

"Oh, that sounds great and all, you guys, but I already agreed to take a job with Gajeel again. We're leaving in about an hour."

"O-oh…" Jet lowered the poster, slowly stuffing it back in it's place. He gave her a slanted smile, trying and failing to look as if he wasn't bothered. "That's alright, Droy and I can take another one. We'll go on a job once you and…Gajeel get back…" He finished slowly, as if even hesitant to say his name.

"Just make sure you stay safe, alright?" Droy dug his shoes into the dirt, feeling a bit awkward. The both of them weren't the biggest fans of the Iron Dragon Slayer, but they maintained a civil and neutral facade for the blue-haired mage's sake.

"We don't want you to get any more hurt than you already are." The orange haired man added, rubbing the back of his neck, looking away.

Levy nodded, not quite sure what to say when they got all mopey like this. Levy wasn't very good at comforting people to begin with. Or, at least, she didn't think so.

"You know I can take care of myself. But I promise." She gave another smile, before pointing in the direction of Fairy Hills. "I really should get going. I need to pack and make sure I've got the rent paid."

"We'll see you later, Levy."

"Bye, you guys!" With another wave, Levy trotted away, leaving her depressed teammates slowly shuffling away in defeat.

* * *

Gajeel shoved open the door to his small house, sniffing the air for anything unusual. Nothing seemed out of place, besides the expected rearrangement of some of the clutter from Lily. Fortunately, the exceed was more inclined to actually clean the mess that was Gajeel's stuff, despite how it never appeared to be any neater than before. It was a losing battle, but Lily was determined to have a 'decent house to live in,' as he so kindly put it.

Throwing his bag on the kitchen table, Gajeel immediately made his way to the bathroom to take a quick shower, feeling the grime and sweat sticking to his skin from their long journey back home. It was a wonder the shrimp hadn't said something the whole way back.

Once washed, he grabbed some clean clothes for the trip and replaced the ones in his bag, tossing the dirty ones in the hamper with the rest of his unwashed laundry. Hopefully Lily would think to clean the clothes as well while they were gone, since Gajeel kept forgetting to start on it when he was actually home. Aw, well. It would get done eventually, either out of Lily's frustration to keep things clean or Gajeel's desperation for clothes that didn't smell like dirty socks.

It didn't take him long to pack his things. After half an hour, he found himself at a loss for what to do in the meantime. He didn't really fancy waiting around at the city square for the bluenette, but there really wasn't much else to do. Staring around at the walls with a frown, he somehow made his way back to the kitchen.

Contrary to the rest of the house, the kitchen was always kept as clean and tidy as possible. At first glance to any other part of the house, one would think the dragon slayer to be a slob. It may even be true, to some degree. However, as a respectable chef, Gajeel knew better than to work in an unclean workspace, let alone allow his kitchen to become dirty or unsightly. His pride as a cook would have otherwise been soiled.

With a sigh, he tossed his bag back on the table, one of the few empty surfaces in the house, before heading down the hall and into the spare room, where his workbench was. Piles of scraps of metal cluttered the wooden surface, tools and other equipment stuffed in half-open drawers beneath. He really should get it more organized, he thought, but then shrugged and pushed some of his previous things aside to make room.

Picking up the half-finished trinket he'd been working on before, eyeing the beginning stages of a snake coiled around a rose. It was one of his better projects, but it was slow coming. Each detail took time to make, and he wanted it to turn out right.

He turned it this way and that, mentally planning and tweaking the design he'd had in mind right from the beginning. Picking up a engraving tool, he began working on the snake's eyes, slowly and carefully working the metal exactly to his liking.

Mind elsewhere, he idly picked up a stray screw and rolled it between his teeth, slowly nibbling away at the piece of metal as he worked. He picked away at the small trinket in his hands, the shaving falling to the floor below. He'd clean it up later.

Before long, the snake had one well-detailed eye, and he began working on the second, before he remembered he was supposed to meet Levy at the square.

"Shit…" He muttered, glancing at the clock on the wall. He was going to be late at this point. Time had gotten away from him.

Setting down the tool and the snake, he pushed away from the desk and returned to the kitchen, grabbing his bag and pushing out the door, giving his place a last once-over before he shut the door behind him.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey…shrimp? You sure this is the right place?" Gajeel scratched his head, staring up at the building before them. The multicolored house, set at the top of the hill above the small town of Peiora, stood out against the rest of the buildings quite obviously. Yellow and green shutters covered wide square windows on the front, the blue paint of the house bright and a stark contrast to the gray and brown colors of the other residents. The structure seemed to lean a little to the left, as if it was built on uneven foundation.

Beside the house was a large, equally colorful, magical vehicle. It was bigger in size than a normal vehicle, with the main body being much rounder than usual. Attached at the front of it was another car, likely the man's everyday transportation. Small curtains covered the windows on the side of the bigger vehicle, so they couldn't see into it. The outside was covered in decorations; pinwheels, sparkles, long sticks with ribbons at the end poking out at random directions, making it both an eyesore and an interest point at the same time.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure." Levy double checked the address on the job ad, comparing it to that on the mailbox right beside them. It was painted a neon pink, with white polka dots. "This should be the place."

The two Fairy Tail mages stood staring at the house for a moment, hesitant to approach. Something about it just…made them take pause.

Then, Levy sighed, rolling her shoulders to loosen the tension. "Come on. Let's go meet the client."

"Right." Gajeel muttered, following after the bluenette towards the front door.

They stepped up to the porch, and Gajeel rapped his knuckles on the door, knocking several times before stepping back and waiting for an answer.

A minute or so passed, and still they heard no noise from within the house. Frowning, Levy stepped forward this time and knocked quickly herself, more insistently. Still, nothing.

"He ain't home, shrimp. Let's go back to the town and-"

"Shit! God damn caravan…" A man's voice called from somewhere behind them in the distance. They both swung around, searching for the source of the noise. There was the sound of movement, and something metallic hitting something else. Gajeel and Levy stepped off the porch, walking back towards the large vehicle beside the house where the noise was coming from.

"Hello?" Levy called out, and the movement stopped. They could see a pair of boots from underneath the caravan, and the feet walked around the vehicle.

An older man, sporting a large black mustache with thinning hair atop his head, appeared from behind the caravan, eyeing them grouchily. "Who're you two? Get the hell off my property!"

"Uh, sir?" Levy tried to reassure, raising her hands defensively. "I'm Levy, this is Gajeel. We're mages from Fairy Tail. You sent for us?"

For a moment he said nothing, but simply stared at Gajeel as if he were a disgusting bug he'd just discovered. Gajeel, in turn narrowed his eyes and raised a brow, wondering what he'd done to offend the old man already. "You two?" He finally asked, glancing between the two of them.

"You asked for us specifically, didn't you?" Gajeel asked, confused and becoming angry at their less than welcome…well, welcome. They didn't even know this guy's name and he was already glaring daggers at them.

"The hell I did! All I asked for was for a couple of capable mages who wouldn't ask no questions and watch my back while I travel that god forsaken desert!" The old man ranted, waving his hands angrily as he spoke. "And look what I get! Two nosy teenagers with nasty looks in their eyes!"

Levy took a step back, intimidated by the man's unprovoked anger. Gajeel, who stood behind her, moved his hand to press against her back, preventing her from retreating any further. She knew it was his way of giving her strength, silently telling her to keep her ground, and not to let some old guy scare her. She was Levy freaking McGarden, after all. She'd faced more powerful people than this angry grandpa.

Taking a breath, Levy steeled herself and straightened up with a slight up tilt of her chin. Unbeknownst to her, Gajeel smirked, proud of her courage. She'd certainly grown from the petite and fragile mage he'd offered to help train for S-Class all that time ago. He bit back the urge to chuckle. Well, not in height, but definitely in fortitude.

_That'a girl._

"Sir, we're here to escort you across the desert. I believe you'll find us to be capable enough for that simple task, seeing as we are Fairy Tail mages. We've dealt with plenty of dangerous things in our time with the guild. Please don't brush that aside. Now, may I ask your name?" Her previous hesitation had disappeared, replaced by the desire to carry on with the job in her usual all-business expression.

The old man scoffed, crossing his arms. "Heh. Simple task my ass. You ever seen the war parties that scout those dunes?" He questioned with a skeptical tone. Obviously they hadn't, but he continued on anyway. "You best pray we don't run into any of 'em out there. They aren't to be underestimated."

"Your name, sir?" She repeated more insistently, not to be redirected away from the issue at hand.

The old man stared her down silently, as if sizing her up and measuring her worth. This time, Levy didn't shrink into herself at the intense gaze, but merely waited for him to answer her question. With a smug up tilt of the corner of his mouth, he let out a short, humorless laugh. "Name's Clyde Gordon, sweetheart. Don't go wearing it out."

Gajeel practically growled at the mocking implications of his words, and the way he'd said them, but otherwise gave no other reaction. Levy didn't seem phased either. She simply nodded.

"Well, shall we discuss the job more at length?" The bluenette suggested, getting rather comfortable taking charge of the situation and flaunting her confidence. She could get used to this feeling.

"Sounds like you've already made up your mind about it." Clyde grumbled, sighing and turning away back towards the house. "Come on, then. Hurry it up."

* * *

They talked at length about what exactly they'd be doing while out in the desert. Levy did most of the talking, with Gajeel content just to sit back and listen. If he had any problems with the situation, he'd speak up, but it seemed like Levy had most of it covered. She knew exactly what to ask and how to get the old man to answer, when he felt like it. Which was a miracle in itself, since he was stubborn to the core and reluctant to give them any information whatsoever.

Gajeel could already tell that him and Clyde wouldn't be getting along during their time together. Something about the dragon slayer seemed to offend the merchant to no end, and he hadn't even done anything to be deserving of it. When he wasn't talking business with Levy, he was griping at him to stop slouching in his chair or to quit with 'that foul expression.'

He kept himself busy by inspecting the living room of the house, noticing that the interior was a complete shift of the outside appearance. While the outside was fun and bright, there was a distinct lack of color on the walls and floors. Besides the bare necessities of a house, there wasn't much in terms of decor or personal affects. Gray, brown, and black seemed to be the only color themes inside the house. It looked dull, lifeless, as if no one truly lived there.

His thoughts were interrupted by Levy speaking again.

"So, you're moving locations to Crescent Valley, right?" Levy asked, sipping at the tea that he'd at least been gracious enough to make for her. Of course, that offer hadn't been extended to Gajeel. No surprise there. The bluenette crossed her legs, leaning back in the chair she was seated in.

"Yeah, that's right. And that's all you need to know." He replied gruffly, scratching distractedly at his mustache. "All I'm paying you to do is protect my stuff and make sure I get there in one piece. Now, we've talked enough about the job." He made to stand, but the bluenette tilted her head.

Levy frowned, taking in what he'd said. "Sir, are there any other dangers you expect to present themselves? You'll have to be completely honest with-"

"You youngsters and all your damn questions, always demanding answers. Should learn your place." He mumbled, interrupting her sentence yet again.

"Pardon me saying so, sir, but you're being irrational. We can't-"

"Didn't I say I wanted mages who shut their mouths and didn't ask continuous questions?" He scoffed, shaking his head as if proven that they had already fallen below his expectations.

Gajeel was getting tired of Clyde's innate habit of talking over the bluenette, who could be soft spoken at times. He could see her confidence begin to waver as Levy realized she wasn't getting through to him. Scowling, the dragon slayer shifted in his seat.

"I'd speak a little more respectfully to the lady." He warned, earning their attention. "We can terminate the job now and leave, and you can wait around for someone else to escort your sorry ass across that desert."

Levy pursed her lips, frustrated with the whole situation, really. Things were getting rather uncomfortable, in no small part because of their client. Gajeel's alpha male personality wasn't helping either. She hated when people argued heatedly, and if Clyde's quick frown and glare at her partner was anything to go by, it was about to get heated.

"Now, you listen here, brat. Didn't your daddy ever teach you manners? Respecting your elders? I don't like your tone, boy." Clyde pointed an accusing finger at Gajeel, who narrowed his eyes, opening his mouth to reply.

"That's enough!" Levy cut in, frowning at both men incredulously. After several moments of locked gazes, boring into each other's eyes and daring the other to look away, the two men slowly turned their attentions back to the frustrated bluenette. "Can we get on with the specifics, then we can be on our way? The sooner we leave, the better." She dictated, crossing her arms resolutely.

Both men seemed to reluctantly listen to her authoritative direction, Clyde less so than the her partner. Gajeel knew when Levy was pissed, and if the irritation in her expression was anything to judge by, they were quickly reaching that point. An angry Levy was a cute Levy, but now wasn't the time for that.

Luckily, Levy was able to steer the conversation back onto the matter at hand, and before too long, they'd finished discussing the details.

"Now, is there anything you need help with before we get under way?" She questioned, and Clyde rose to his feet with a deep sigh.

"Gotta finish putting the caravan together." He answered, and they followed him outside.

* * *

For the next few hours, Levy and Gajeel helped Clyde stuff bags and shove boxes into the car pulling the caravan, packing the rest of the man's store inventory in containers to travel. It seemed that the man's entire shop was actually the caravan itself, so now he just had to bring his personal belongings with him as well. That made things a little easier, but they were both still sweating by the time they'd finished stuffing the vehicles with Clyde's possessions.

"That should do it." Clyde finally said, finishing up tying the last of his belongings to the caravan and shut the door, locking it tightly. He turned, seeing Gajeel and Levy sitting down to rest now that they were finished. The merchant frowned, and pointed to the house. "Get off your lazy asses and check the house. Make sure there's nothing left."

Gajeel growled at the snapped order, but Levy reached over and set a hand on his arm. She sighed, but shook her head. He calmed down, if only for her sake, but that didn't stop him from sending his best glare towards their client as they returned to the colorful building, stepping through the door and checking all the rooms for any belongings. Nothing was left.

"Looks like we've gotten everything. There's nothing left in the house." Levy said, approaching the merchant.

"Great. Now we can finally set off." He grumped, grabbing a loose bag and walking over to the front vehicle with it. Levy and Gajeel's bags were sitting by the porch where they'd tossed them for the time being. Now, they picked them up and followed after him.

"Where should we put our things, Mr. Gordon?" Levy asked with a small smile, her way of trying to bring back her own good mood.

The merchant turned and raised a brow. "Well, I don't see any room for them in my cars, so looks like you'll have to carry them. Might build your character." He said, shutting the passenger door after setting down his own things. Gajeel peered past him into the cabin and saw an empty space in the back seat. Clyde smirked, turning and walking around to the other side to get into the driver's seat.

"Lying bastard." Gajeel muttered, just loud enough for Levy to hear. She sighed again.

"I don't think he'll be offering to let us ride with him either." The bluenette heard the vehicle begin to start up, Clyde probably having attached the magic cuff to his arm by now. "Guess it'll be a long walk to Crescent Valley."

The vehicle lurched forward, the caravan attached to the back jerked with the movement, and the decorations swayed around dangerously, close to falling off. Luckily nothing fell, and Clyde started down the road at a slow speed.

"Why do I feel like it's just going to get worse from here?" Levy sweatdropped, shifting the bag on her shoulder as they started walking. Gajeel grunted.

"Well, it ain't getting better. That's for sure." He scowled.

Levy said nothing, but frowned, feeling like there was something important that she was supposed to remember at that moment, or that she was forgetting something. But for the life of her, she couldn't think of what it was. Shrugging, she figured that at some point it would come back to mind.


	9. Chapter 9

Her tent. She'd forgotten her tent.

After several hours of traveling through the sand, Clyde had announced that he was too tired to go any further that day and that they'd be camping right in that spot. At the top of a sand dune. Of course, Levy and Gajeel didn't have any complaints with that, seeing as the heat of the sun had leeched most of their energy during the day. Plus, their feet were hurting like hell, considering all the walking they'd done.

Luckily for the two Fairy Tail mages, Clyde's magic was not as potent or capable as it used to be, allowing the magical vehicles to go no faster than the speed of a fast walk. What they feared would be a long week of playing catch-up was much more manageable now. At least they wouldn't have to spend the entire journey trying to catch up with him, using up all of their energy and stamina on running.

Predictably, Clyde had largely ignored the two mages for most of their travels, barking at them to pick up objects that fell off the outside of the caravan, or to 'hurry the hell up, we haven't got all day.' After about the third time of this, Gajeel was mumbling dark things under his breath, most of which Levy didn't catch. Nor did she want to, if the resentful glare directed at the vehicles was anything to go by.

They hadn't run into any of the war parties that Clyde and Mira had alluded to, though they certainly saw evidence of previous passersby. The ruined remains of magical vehicles and abandoned campsites occasionally could be spotted in various places of the desert. Poles with colored banners marked the road, no doubt to direct travelers as they traversed the desert. Everything looked the same and it was easy to get lost walking in circles without realizing it.

Once they'd stopped after several hours of travel, he still hadn't given them any rest, rather unkindly demanding that they scout the area to be sure it was safe, since he couldn't be bothered to do so himself. In a matter of minutes, Levy and Gajeel had made sure there wasn't any threats around them, with Levy even going so far as to set up a rune trap that would alert them to anything passing through the barrier.

"Sir, will you be-" Levy tried knocking on the caravan door, wanting to know if he'd be serving them dinner or allow them to sleep inside one of the cars, but a sharp reply made her stop.

"Leave me alone and don't bother me until it's morning!" She'd take that as a no on both counts.

It seemed their gracious host wouldn't be weathering the outdoors as Levy and Gajeel would have to. Which had prompted Levy to go searching for her camping equipment, while the dragon slayer made them dinner.

"Normally, a client would ensure that we were fed and had proper shelter while on a job…" Levy muttered, more to herself than anything, but Gajeel caught it with his superior sense of hearing. He gave a sigh, pulling out a few cans of food for them to eat and setting his bag back down a few feet away.

With a groan, he stretched out across the sand, hands behind his head. "Nothing about this guy seems normal though." He mentioned. "He's a fucking prick."

She agreed with a rueful shake of her head. It was just their luck to get a rude and insufferable man as their client. But she wasn't wrong. It was customary that clients would take care of the basic necessities of the mages working for them. While most of the time mages secured their own living arrangements while on jobs, in the event none could be made, the client would shelter them or help find a place.

Her thoughts shifted from her negative opinion about Mr. Gordon to her task at hand, which was setting up her tent to sleep in. She frowned, frustrated that she hadn't found her things yet. And then the worry set in, as still, she couldn't find it.

"Um…Gajeel? You brought your tent, right?" Levy called behind her, digging through her bag for her own things. That sinking feeling in her stomach steadily grew as each second stretched without finding her equipment. Shoving clothing and other items aside, she sighed heavily. It wasn't there. In fact, the more she looked, the less she realized was in her bag. No tent. No pillow. No blanket, either.

"Eh? Yeah, why?" He asked, glancing towards the bluenette curiously. She returned his gaze with a defeated expression, and a hint of guilt.

"It looks like I, uh, sort of forgot mine. Which is strange. I swear I packed it." She bit her lip, looking away. Heat radiated off of her cheeks, and she looked away so he wouldn't see it.

"Gihee, there's a first. The shrimp is the one unprepared this time." Gajeel chuckled, unbothered by the fact that he'd probably be sleeping out in the sand for the night. Well, it wasn't an appealing thought, but he didn't mind giving up his tent for Levy's sake. "We'll figure something out after we eat."

She shivered, a sudden breeze chilling her exposed skin. The sun was going down rather quickly, the sand cooling dramatically in the evening hours. Gajeel noticed she rubbed at her arms to generate heat, and dug through his bag for the blanket he'd packed, tossing it towards her. "Here. Don't want you turning into a shrimp popsicle, gihee." He grinned, enjoying the unamused expression she gave him.

Nevertheless, she took the offered blanket gratefully, wrapping it around her small form. The fabric shielded her from the wind, and her shivering soon stopped. "Thank you." She said quietly, drawing his attention from his bag. He smiled, happy that he'd helped.

Of course, there wasn't any tree in the vicinity that they could burn for a fire, so Levy had to improvise with her magic, creating a small fire atop the sand to keep them warm and cook their food. The sun had dropped well below the dunes, the sky darkening to a deep navy blue, and soon began to border on complete blackness. Stars littered the sky, and Levy knew that Lucy would have enjoyed the view if she'd been there to see it, no doubt pointing out constellations and explaining their meanings and origins.

"Wonder if Mira knew what this guy was like before she sent us here." Gajeel muttered, stirring their dinner in the small pot above Levy's fire.

The same thought had crossed her mind several times, but her trust in her friends was strong. Perhaps Mira didn't know, or she felt that the two of them could handle Mr. Gordon's obvious anger issues.

"I don't know. She doesn't seem like the type of person to do that though." Levy admitted, glancing over at the caravan where Clyde was sleeping. A light was on inside, so he probably wasn't asleep yet, but he hadn't come out since they'd stopped for the day.

Once the food was done, Gajeel dished it out, splitting the amount in half so they both had enough. A nice hot meal did wonders for the bluenette, who was still chilled despite the blanket and the fire. The strong winds that blew across the open desert left her cold to the bone, and they never seemed to cease.

It took almost no time for the dragon slayer to set up his tent, an envious Levy realized. Usually it took her awhile to get everything situated, seeing as she was a little on the short side and couldn't quite reach the top of the tent if she stood on her tiptoes in the center. Which made tying the strings to secure it a little difficult. He must have seen her jealous gaze because he made sure to make fun of her height yet again. Sticking her tongue out, she crossed her arms and went to check on the food for him.

After finishing their meal, Levy and Gajeel sat cross-legged around the small fire. Levy still had the blanket, as he'd refused to take it back. Her sense of fairness was telling her that it was his and she shouldn't be hogging it, especially when she could see the goosebumps along his arms at the chilly air. But she knew how stubborn Gajeel could be.

A blush marked her cheeks at the thought that flashed across her mind. Thankfully, it was too dark for Gajeel to see, and he was staring into the fire anyways, arms crossed.

_Come on, Levy. It's not that bad…right? You're just being a good friend. He probably won't even see it that way. Just do it, don't think about it. Besides, you know you really want to…_

Would he get mad at her? Maybe yell at her for invading his personal space? The last thing she wanted to do was make him angry or cause things to be awkward.

_You never know until you try…_

Taking a silent breath to calm her beating heart, she stood and approached Gajeel, who looked up as she moved.

"I said you could keep the blanket, shrimp." He started, raising a brow, but she shook her head, unwrapping herself from the blanket and throwing it around his own shoulders. Arms falling away, he leaned back, unsure of what she was doing. He looked at her with confusion and curiosity. "What are you-"

"We can share." She interrupted, blushing furiously, and planted herself in front of him, her back to his chest as she enclosed herself in the blanket as well. Gajeel said nothing. In fact, he didn't even seem to move. The rise and fall of his chest was absent as well. He'd stopped breathing temporarily. But he wasn't pushing her away or voicing disapproval, so she stayed where she was, reveling in the warmth beneath the blanket.

Gajeel's skin was still cold, but with the material around him now, as well as Levy's own heated skin, he was soon just as warm as the fire they sat beside. He hoped she couldn't feel the rapid beating of his own heart. It sounded too loud for his own ears. Realizing he'd stopped breathing, he exhaled the pent up breath and forced himself to calm down.

For awhile, he kept his hands on his knees, far away from the bluenette currently sitting in his lap and refusing to budge. Not that he wanted her to leave or anything. Levy fit quite nicely against his chest, creating his own personal heater to keep him toasty. He just didn't know how far she'd thought this through or if she even knew what she was doing to him.

The scent of her hair, that sweet strawberry aroma, wafted through his nostrils. It was more difficult than he cared to admit not to sniff her, pulling as much of the scent as he could into his being. God damn, and she wasn't even aware of all that.

After awhile of getting used to how close she was, how nice she felt, and the intoxicating aroma of her very person, he slowly wrapped his arms around her chest, leaning forward and resting his chin on the top of her head. Not too tightly to crush her, but loose enough where he felt he wouldn't hurt her accidentally. Silently, he gave into the impulse to fill his lungs with her scent, reveling in the sweetness with closed eyes.

Levy did everything in her power not to snuggle deeper into his embrace, her face probably a deep red because of the position they were in. She normally wasn't the forward type, but something about the way Gajeel acted around her, as if holding himself at a distance emotionally…she just knew. If she wanted anything to happen between the two of them, she'd have to be the one to initiate it.

Deep down, the bluenette knew why. He probably still felt guilty for attacking her when he'd been in Phantom Lord. The thought made her sigh. He was always adamant that she should stop talking badly about himself, yet punished himself everyday for the mistakes he'd made so long ago. Levy had forgiven him ages ago, she'd even told him so. He just had to find it in himself to let it go.

_Maybe being close to him like this will help. Maybe he'll start to think he deserves happiness too._

They sat there in silence, drawing warmth from one another contentedly, watching the fire. Gajeel thought that they didn't need words. It was peaceful and quiet, and wonderfully warm.

There was a long pause, before Levy finally broke the silence. "Clyde is an asshole." She said suddenly, and Gajeel looked down sharply at the bluenette in his arms.

He laughed, his chest rumbling in amusement beneath her, but he couldn't stop himself. It was too unexpected. Levy smiled, his laughter infectious, and she chuckled as well. "What?" She asked, giggling at his reaction.

"Just not something I expected to hear from you, shrimp. You're too polite to insult people. Gihee."

"Well, I don't go making a habit of it, unlike you." She joked. "But you know as well as I do that it's true." Levy tried defending. Unfortunately, she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her, and Gajeel joined in.

In their mutual dislike for their client they almost completely forgot the previously precarious feelings, and stayed up talking for awhile in companionable discussion.

* * *

Lily flew into the guild hall, Happy right on his tail with tears in his eyes. "Lily! You promised you'd help train me!" The blue exceed exclaimed, holding the leftover fish he'd been eating earlier.

With a sigh, Panther Lily rolled his eyes, landing on the bar and folding up his wings, finally turning to his companion. "Look, I tried, but there isn't much I can do for you unless you take it seriously."

Falling to his small blue knees, Happy clasped his paws together. "I will! I'm sorry I got distracted at the lake! I promise I won't go after the fish again." He blubbered through his begging. "Please, Lily! I want to be cool like you and Carla!"

"It's getting late, Happy. We can start again tomorrow, alright? Get some rest." Lily suggested, pointing to the door where Natsu entered alongside Lucy. "I think Salamander is looking for you anyways."

"Aye…" His normally jovial catchphrase was uttered in a much more subdued manner. Continuing to mope around, Happy flew away towards his partner, leaving Lily alone at the bar. He rubbed at his face, feeling the exhaustion of the day wearing at him.

While he didn't mind spending time with his fellow exceeds, they sure did make him work. Happy couldn't go ten minutes without wondering where the nearest fish was, probably no thanks to Natsu's influence. The man could eat like five grown men.

Carla didn't seem to be very conversational to the two other exceeds, preferring to spend all her time with Wendy. She was intelligent though, and Lily could respect her abilities of observation and prediction.

Only himself out of the three of them was really suited for combat, in the most direct degree. He could hold his own against an opponent, but Happy had proven that perhaps he should stick to being a supportive companion while in battle. Lily had even legitimately tried teaching him methods of attack and defense, but the blue exceed seemed too preoccupied with other things to really pay attention.

Laying on the bar, Lily closed his eyes, feeling too tired to get up and fly back to the house quite yet. Perhaps a nap was in order…

"Long day?" A voice asked, and he cracked open an eye to see Mira bringing over his favorite kiwi juice from the kitchen, setting it beside his head. He sat up, nodding in appreciation.

"Unfortunately. Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to help Happy train." He muttered, taking sips from his juice. The white-haired mage laughed, leaning on the counter of the bar.

"It's a wonder Natsu can manage him on a daily basis." She agreed, resting her head on her hand.

Lily had a sneaking suspicion Mira wasn't only there for pleasantries, and after only a brief pause, predictably, the white-haired mage chuckled, giving a sweet smile. "I wanted to ask you, how do you think Gajeel and Levy are doing on this new job?"

Lily grinned in return, his suspicions having been proved correct. "Well, seeing as Levy doesn't have a tent and other items, I imagine they'll be spending some quality time together."

"Hmm…it doesn't help that the desert gets rather cold at night…" Mira wondered aloud, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Too bad starting a fire will be difficult as well. No trees around for firewood. Of course, Levy could easily fix that with her magic."

"Didn't you say the client was rather surly to begin with?" The exceed asked, recalling what she'd said before about the man who'd requested help. Apparently he was renowned for being difficult and a hassle to work with. Most mages refused to take jobs for him. A fact that Mira had conveniently forgotten to tell Levy and Gajeel before they'd left.

She was sure they'd be fine. Perhaps a little ticked about the working conditions, but she was sure that they could still look after themselves and be safe at the same time. They had each other, and Fairy Tail mages were known for being tough to break.

"So I've heard. But I'm sure they'll manage." Lily cocked a brow, unsatisfied with her lack of an answer.

"You originally told me the job poster was sent to Mermaid Heel, not for Gajeel and Levy." He pressed, enjoying watching her unwavering smile under pressure. Looking decidedly too innocent, she tilted her head in surprise, her mouth forming a perfect 'o.'

"Now, when did I say that? I'm afraid I don't recall." Her devious smile returned not a moment later. "Didn't I see you taking out Levy's camping supplies from her bag when you saw them off at the train station?"

The afternoon they'd returned from the translation job, Lily had insisted he see them off, feeling bad for not going with them. Of course, while they'd purchased the tickets, Lily had offered to take their bags aboard the train. A few items might have 'accidentally' been misplaced in the process, hidden in some nearby bushes until after they'd left, but Lily, of course, wouldn't know anything about that.

Lily finished drinking the juice and crossed his arms, turning to survey the unusually small number of people in the guild hall. It was hard to mask the grin that threatened to show. "I'm offended you would think so low of me, Mira."

"Ah, my apologies." Came her chuckled response. She saw the yawn the exceed let out, sighing as she straightened up. "It's getting rather late. Perhaps you should head back home."

"Perhaps." Unable to fight off his exhaustion any longer, Lily nodded and bid his farewell to Mira, hopping off the bar and flying out of the building, heading towards home. The colder night air was a welcome change to the heated guild hall. One didn't know how stifling it actually was until they left.

As he flew the streets towards his bed, Panther Lily thought of Gajeel and Levy, honestly hoping that they were alright. He knew it was probably not the best idea to have taken Levy's camping equipment, no doubt causing some problems wherever they were, but he knew that unless something pushed them together, they'd never get over that bump separating the two of them. And Lily was getting pretty tired of the two of them not acting upon what was obvious to everyone else.

* * *

"It's getting late. We've got a long day of walking tomorrow." Gajeel whispered to the bluenette still wrapped in his arms. "Better get to sleep."

"Mhmm." She hummed, too tired to even move from her spot. It was nice and warm in the blanket, she didn't want to leave it. Her eyes were slowly drifting shut, the weight of her eyelids too much for her to combat. She felt more than heard Gajeel's chuckle, and he leaned back away from her, forcing her to sit up or fall over.

"Come on, shorty." He coaxed, watching her groggily rub at her face. She let the blanket fall from her grasp and the wind hit both of their warm bodies, sending chills down their arms and necks.

"Stupid desert…" She muttered, and he bit back the laugh that threatened to spill from his mouth.

He allowed her to get up before he stood himself, brushing off sand from his trousers. Levy tried smoothing out her hair, which had been blown in the wind, but the wild tresses refused to be tamed. Giving up, Levy yawned deeply, seeing Gajeel head towards his tent.

Remembering her predicament, the Solid Script mage's eyes widened, her previous exhaustion temporarily forgotten by the revelation that she had no place to sleep that night.

Gajeel noticed her hesitation and looked back at her. "You ain't gonna sleep out here in the sand, are you?"

"Uh…well, is there even enough room for both of us in there?"

"Huh?" He cocked his head in that confused manner, raising a brow. What was she talking about? "Both? You can take the tent, shrimp. I'll be fine."

"Gajeel, no! I'm not going to kick you out of your own tent just because I forgot mine. That's rude."

"Quit worrying." He tried persuading, hoping that she'd just drop the subject, but she resolutely planted her feet in the sand and crossed her arms.

"How could I not worry? I don't want you sleeping out here in the middle of the desert. It's freezing at night! We've only got one blanket and one tent. If we-"

"Quiet down out there! God damn teenagers…" An angry voice called from the caravan, as Clyde decided to put his two cents into the conversation. They both swung their gazes to the vehicle, watching as the light on the inside abruptly shut off.

After a few moments of silence, they turned back to each other, regarding the other carefully.

"Well, I ain't making you sleep out here." He reasoned with a shrug. She sighed, rubbing at her face with a small laugh.

"It's really not that hard to get, Gajeel. I'm trying to suggest that we both share." Levy's blush returned when he didn't say anything. And she was too nervous to look up at him to see his expression. "I mean…unless you absolutely don't want to, then I-"

"It's not that I mind, shrimp. Just didn't think you'd want to…" He muttered, scratching the back of his head. Levy shook her head with an exasperated sigh. Really, for as great as Gajeel was, he really was an idiot sometimes.

"There you go assuming things again. I'm fine sharing. Now, come on, we're both tired and we've got a lot of walking to do tomorrow." And so saying, before she completely lost her nerve and started to think too much into what she was getting herself into, Levy picked up her bag and wandered into the tent, leaving Gajeel staring after her for a few moments. With his own shake of his head, the dragon slayer followed after her.

He'd lain out a makeshift bed with extra fabric, since they didn't have much in terms of comfort to use as padding. Levy had tossed her bag in the corner beside his own, and was now perusing through it for something comfortable to wear to sleep.

"Look away for a second." She said.

Intentionally avoiding her gaze, so he wouldn't be inclined to stare, Gajeel turned his back to her and busied himself looking through his own bag. There was no need to change into something else. His clothes were breathable enough to keep him warm to sleep in without constricting him. Digging through his bag was just a means of keeping his attention away from the bluenette behind him.

He could hear her clothes rustling as she wiggled out of them and into something else. After a few more moments, she gave her permission to turn around, and he reluctantly did so, unsure of what he'd find.

She'd changed into a loose t-shirt and some pants, simple and practical for the cold temperature outside. Her feet were outfitted with thick socks, though they were patterned with snowflakes. He raised a brow at that, and she looked away. "What? They're my favorite, ok?"

"I didn't say anything about 'em."

"You thought it." She accused with a pout.

"So you read minds now, huh?" Gajeel grinned, leaning forwards slowly to peer into her face. Some things he just couldn't help but put the small woman through. His endless teasing was one of those things. "Hmm, can you tell what else I'm thinking now?"

If he thought her face was red with a blush before, it definitely was now, an explosion of red taking over her skin. Her eyes stared into his. Levy didn't say anything, and he cocked his head to the side with his signature smirk. "Eh? No ideas?"

The bluenette found her voice wouldn't work. Was he really suggesting that he-?

"I was thinking the desert air is making you shrink even smaller. Look, you've probably lost a couple inches, gihee!" He patted her head just to prove his point.

The growing nervousness and slight excitement quickly vanished at his words, and she glared instead. Sputtering, she swatted him away from her face.

"S-stupid Gajeel! Stupid, s-stupid!"

"Gihee!"

"Shut up!"

Levy pushed herself away and angrily grabbed the blanket throwing it over her body and laying down on the floor beside him, making sure she faced the other direction. "I'm going to sleep."

"Gihee, alright, alright." Being sure to keep his distance, Gajeel lay beside her, arms propped behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling of the tent, and before long his eyes closed. After several minutes of nothing but the sound of their breathing, Gajeel cracked open his eyes a little again. Grin still in place, he glanced at the mess of hair that poked our from the top of the blanket. "Oh, and shrimp? Try not to suffocate me in my sleep with your cuddling."

"I-I don't cuddle, you jerk!" She adamantly defended, wrapping herself tighter in the blanket. Still she refused to look at him. "Go to sleep!"

"I'm sorry, gihee."

"No you're not." He heard her mumble, not convinced of his apology.

He'd never grow tired of the tiny woman, and her spitfire temper at being teased. Deciding that she'd been tormented enough for one night, he settled himself more comfortably, letting out a sigh as his back popped in just the right place.

He fell asleep with a pleased grin in place.


	10. Chapter 10

Levy normally woke up to the gentle sunlight streaming through her bedroom blinds, usually shining right into her eyes first thing in the morning. It took a moment to realize she wasn't back in Magnolia, though only a moment. This morning in particular, the light wasn't the cause for her awakening. Instead, it was the sweltering heat inside the small tent, ever rising from the sun that was now breaking over the horizon.

The Solid Script mage cracked open an eye, feeling a sheen layer of sweat all over her body from the uncomfortable temperatures. Peering up at the tan canvas of the tent, she sighed, knowing that they had a long day of walking yet again. The exhaustion from yesterday hadn't seemed to fully leave her, as it was a struggle just thinking about getting up to get dressed.

A groan beside her snapped her back to reality. Of course, how could she forget? She'd spent the night with Gajeel in the same tent. A faint blush marked her cheeks, her discomfort from the heat temporarily forgotten. Technically, they'd shared a bed. (A very loose term, considering there was no actual bed to share, only a blanket and pillow.) Still, that was progress, yeah?

Next to her, Gajeel shifted in his sleep, and Levy's eyes widened. Glancing over, she took in the heavily-muscled arm draped over her frame, his fingers resting casually on her hip. His face was tucked neatly into the side of her torso, the skin being heated with every even breath he took. She tried to move her legs, which was still covered with the blanket for some reason, but found that one of his legs was draped over hers, pinning her to the floor and unable to move.

There was a familiar feeling of rising panic, but it quickly died away. There wasn't any danger. It was just uncomfortable. She felt stifled in the small tent being cuddled by the equally hot muscled man beside her, which wasn't helping her predicament. The air was almost suffocating, and it was difficult to breath. Despite her less-than-pleasant situation, she couldn't help but grin a little.

 _What were you saying about being cuddled to death in your sleep, Gajeel?_  Levy bit back the chuckle that threatened to escape her, her eyes drifting down back to his frame.

She studied his face, noticing his expression was angry, or pained perhaps. While he appeared outwardly calm, she now noticed how tense and rigid he actually was, the muscle in his jaw tight and unmoving. Frowning, she lifted one hand, carefully pulling the stray strands of black hair that fell over his face.

He seemed to wince, or frown, and at first she thought she'd woken him. Levy's hand stilled, waiting for him to open his eyes and look at her with confusion, but after a moment he relaxed and seemed less tense than before. As much as she wanted to continue studying him this close, Levy felt a drop of sweat run down her face, a testament to the rising temperatures.

Slowly turning to face away from Gajeel, Levy wiggled her legs out from under his, careful not to wake the sleeping man up in the process. He grumbled under his breath, but it was low under his breath and she couldn't make out the exact words.

Unfortunately, the sleeping Gajeel didn't exactly approve of her little maneuver, as the arm draped across her body tightened, dragging her closer to his own. Levy gasped in surprise upon being crushed to his chest, his arm not releasing the unrelenting vise across her body. Suddenly, she couldn't breath for a different reason…

That reason being he was cutting off all of her circulation and basically squeezing her to death.

"-et go! -jeel!" She gasped out, trying to squirm out of his hold, which only seemed to prompt him to tighten his grasp. Her legs kicked out but found no purchase. "Gaj-!" Levy tried coughing, her body attempting to suck in the much-need air that was being denied. That sensation of a pounding skull began to grow, and she squeezed her eyes shut from the mounting headache. Her arms pushed at his muscled limb, her nails digging into his skin. "Gajeel!"

Black spots began to dance at the edges of her vision. A part of her was surprised that her ribs weren't broken by his immense strength. They certainly hurt, of course. But she hadn't heard any snaps as of yet.

Thankfully, either the pain from her nails or her harsh gasps of his name seemed to register in his unconscious mind, because she could feel him stirring from his deep sleep behind her.

"Holy shit!" He muttered, immediately releasing his hold on the bluenette, who rolled away in a coughing fit. He sat up quickly, analyzing what exactly had happened. Having just barely woken up, his brain was still foggy with sleep.

Too preoccupied with breathing, she didn't notice the look of horror that crossed his expression as he realized what he'd done. "Fuck, Lev, I didn't realize…I'm sorry…"

"It's fine…" She muttered, holding onto her chest as the pain slowly subsided. The bluenette let out a pained laugh, though half of it came out as a strangled cough. "Don't worry…You didn't know."

"Still…I almost…you were…Fuck!" He cursed at himself, running his hands through the tousled hair.

Looking his way, she noticed his arms were shaking. He'd been scared of hurting her some more, she realized. He was afraid. Crawling forwards, she placed a hand on his arm, and he looked down at her with a pained expression.

"Gajeel, really…I'm fine. Don't go beating yourself up over it, ok?" She tried to give him a smile in reassurance, gently squeezing his arm. He said nothing, looking away in silence. That pained look in his eyes didn't go away either. Sighing, she gave his arm a shake, demanding his attention. "I'm serious. Stop that."

"Alright, alright…" He groaned in an unconvincing tone after a short pause. Staring at him a moment more, just to get her point across, Levy released his arm and sat on her heels, turning to comb through her bag of clothes.

Gajeel turned away, following the unspoken request for privacy, and reached for his own things in an attempt to get his mind off of what had almost just happened. It took a moment to unclasp the front of the bag, since his hand was still tense and shaking from the adrenaline.

Closing his eyes, he scowled at himself.  _What the fuck is wrong with you? Just can't help but hurt her, huh?_

He hadn't meant to. His dream had shown him in a completely different place, a different time. It hadn't even been Levy beside him, but Metalicana, back when he was still there to raise him and teach him magic.

_"_ _Nothing more than a storm, brat. Enough with your crying." The dragon had rumbled, settling down in the depths of the cave they'd taken shelter in. Gajeel shivered from the rain that had drenched his clothes, and he jumped when a particularly close and loud crack of thunder boomed above them. He could almost feel the rocks shake beneath his feet._

_"_ _I-I ain't scared! And I ain't crying!" He'd shouted defiantly, though unable to hide the tremble of his lips as he spoke._

_His dragon father stared at him a moment before letting loose a long sigh, slowly lifting his tail from it's place on the floor and stretched it behind Gajeel's back. "Come."_

_Gajeel felt himself being pushed closer to Metalicana, and he stumbled to his knees beside the dragon's front claws. Gajeel looked up into his eyes, seeing an unusual softness he wasn't used to seeing. "Sleep. Tomorrow the storm will be gone and we shall continue your lessons."_

_Nodding, the young Gajeel lay down beside his father as his silver tail wrapped around him, cocooning him to the dragon's body. While the metal looked like it'd be cold to the touch, it kept him comfortably warm and safe, as the storm raged outside. Another crack of thunder boomed, and unconsciously, Gajeel reached out to cling to his father's claw, squeezing to keep himself grounded, and to remind him that he was safe. The low rumble of Metalicana's amusement calmed him down, and he was able to drift to a light sleep._

"Gajeel, I'm going to go see if Mr. Gordon is awake." Levy's words cut through his reverie, and he glanced back as she exited the tent, fully dressed and ready for the day. He grunted a reply after her, too preoccupied to form a cohesive sentence.

He looked down at his bag, coming to the realization that he'd stopped searching for clothes in his daydream. Tightening his fists with a sigh, he removed his shirt and pulled on a clean one. Hopefully the long day of walking would shake him from all these thoughts.

* * *

Levy didn't bring up what had happened that morning again, which Gajeel was more than a little thankful for. He was still trying to convince himself that it wasn't his fault. He hadn't been aware, it had just been a dream, after all. Like she'd said, she didn't blame him for it, as her behavior indicated. She didn't look at him in fear, just smiled like she usually did when he glanced at her.

More than once, he had to stop himself from apologizing, knowing she'd simply smack him for blaming himself. It was tougher than she thought, though. He'd already hurt her enough.

Clyde, of course, didn't offer up much of a conversation, other than muttering about their incompetence when something blew off the side of the caravan, or for the slow pace. He seemed to conveniently forget that was because of his own magic deficiency, providing the slow speed of his vehicle.

Levy couldn't help but chuckle at every bitchy comment their client muttered, thinking it was too low for the mages to hear, but Gajeel's abnormally good sense of hearing betrayed him. Every wince and low growl amused her to no end, but she still hoped Clyde would stop, just in case Gajeel decided enough was enough and snapped. The dragon slayer was practically frothing at the mouth by midday, intent on tearing the man's limbs from his body if he complained one more time about 'those good-for-nothing lazy mages.'

After several hours of walking, Clyde finally shouted that he was hungry and they'd be stopping. Neither Fairy Tail mage was going to refute that, seeing as the heat took such a toll on their stamina. Gajeel fared better than the bluenette, who was panting with every step.

"We stop here and eat, then keep going for awhile." Clyde explained gruffly, unlatching the magic cuff from his arm and returning to the protection of his caravan. The door slammed shut uninvitingly, leaving Levy and Gajeel to eat in the sand.

"I ain't working for this bastard ever again." The dragon slayer muttered darkly, sitting resolutely onto the top of the sand dune and unpacking his bag. Luckily, they'd thought to pack food before arriving at Clyde's house, so they weren't starving. Levy joined him, sighing in defeat.

"We'll have to let Mira know what he's like. Hopefully she'll add his name to the blacklist."

The blacklist was a list of names or cities renowned for being difficult to work with or for, or just plain careless when it came to the lives of the mages they hired. Mira made sure to keep track of which ones weren't the most hospitable or concerned for her friends' safety and placed them on the blacklist. You could still take the jobs posted for them, if you wanted, but at least it gave you due warning.

"Yeah…" He muttered, shooting dark looks at the caravan whilst they ate their lunch, which was nothing more than some sandwiches Levy had thought to pack.

For the most part, they ate in silence, finding little to talk about. Gajeel was too distracted still thinking about that morning to talk much anyways, and Levy was just too hot from the sun. Fanning the air towards her face did little in way of cooling her skin. The swirling air was just as sweltering as the sand she sat on. Her only consolation was that it was too hot for any insect life to thrive either, so at least she wasn't being eaten alive by mosquitos.

Not once did Clyde come out from the caravan, or even indicate he knew they were there half the time. It was irritating, but beside complaining to him about their mistreatment, which neither believed he'd listen to anyways, all they could really do was sit back and take it without making a fuss. The last thing they wanted was for their reputations as respectable mages to be tarnished because of this asshole.

Halfway through his sandwich beside her, Gajeel stiffened, freezing in place, sniffing the air as his eyes flicked about the dunes in front of them. Levy knew that look all too well from missions with the Council. More than once, it had saved their lives. Something was wrong.

"Where?" She asked quietly, rewrapping her lunch and placing it into her bag before grabbing a light pen. They were alert in an instant, with Gajeel continuing to scan the desert around them.

"Can't tell." He grumbled, flashing his elongated canines with frustration. The swirling sand as the wind blew messed with his sense of smell, the heat not much help either. With no waypoints to navigate by either, pinpointing an exact spot was difficult.

The mages stood, brushing off the sand quickly and Levy ran to knock hurriedly on the caravan door.

"Mr. Gordon, we think-"

"We aren't leaving yet, go away!" Came his bitter reply. Huffing in annoyance, because her patience had worn thin with this particular man, Levy essentially pounded on the door without caring how he felt about it.

"We believe there are people nearby, so please stay inside while we take care of things."

"Well, that's what I'm paying you for, ain't it? Get to it then!" He called, seemingly unconcerned for his wellbeing. Or theirs, for that matter. Shaking her head, Levy returned to Gajeel's side, starting on a rune trap in the air.

"What's that gonna do?" The dragon slayer questioned, still trying to figure out where the people he could smell were hiding. They were at the top of a sand dune, and could see on all sides. There was nothing.

Her focus never shifting, Levy continued writing symbols and circles in the air. "It'll warn us which direction they're coming from, and hopefully slow them down if they step through it."

It took only another moment for her to finish the trap, activating the runes and expanding the area it encompassed with her magic. The runes shimmered into transparent walls, stretching around them in a dome. Light pen still in hand, she stood back beside Gajeel and took up a defensive stance, prepared for anything that came her way.

"Good thinking, shrimp." Gajeel muttered, impressed with the faint glittering barrier that encircled them. You almost couldn't see it, unless you were looking for it. Levy nodded with a smile.

"You know, it could just be another traveler crossing the desert." She supplied, and he grunted, ears tuned into his surroundings for any indication of who he could smell.

"Yeah, but it ain't a bad thing to prepare for the worst."

The both of them shut up when they felt a vibration through the ground, the dune they stood upon shifting as waves of sand tumbled down the sides from the shaking. Gajeel could hear a low rumble, somewhere directly to his left, and he turned to face it. Taking the hint, Levy followed suit, staring off into the sand to try to see whatever it was that was near.

Without warning, the rumbling became louder, to where even Levy could hear it, and the ground shook a staggering degree, before not even a hundred yards from where they stood, a massive worm-like creature burst from the dunes of sand, a mouth of sharp teeth protruding from the hole. It screeched an awful noise, and the two mages covered their ears from the sound.

"What the hell is that thing?" Gajeel yelled over it, and Levy shrugged.

"I don't know!"

The creature had emerged within the confines of Levy's trap, and the invisible wall became a bright glowing green, indicating where it had come from. Not that that wasn't already evident. Not a moment later, the wall dissipated before transforming into a thick sludge-like substance, collecting all over the creature's body.

Enraged, it swung its head back and forth as if trying to shake off the black gooey stuff, but to no avail. It's screams grew louder and more pronounced, crying out into the sky for all to hear it's anger. The stuff grew thicker and thicker, slowing the monster down and consuming it's body until it could no longer move at all. It was covered completely in the sludge.

For several minutes, Levy and Gajeel simply stared, seeing if it would somehow break through the glob and attack, but the screaming had stopped and the creature still did not move. Lowering their stances, Levy and Gajeel approached the thing cautiously. She held out a hand to touch it, and her nails scratched against an extremely hard and durable substance.

"No one said this desert had giant fucking worms!" The dragon slayer yelled.

"It's called a Death Worm." A voice behind them said, and they swung around to see Clyde stepping down from his caravan. "Things were supposed to be legends, but it looks like they're indeed still around."

"How dangerous are they?" Levy questioned, her gaze returning to the defeated creature. Even rendered immobile, it was fairly daunting of a sight, the tall worm-like body stuck in a contorted and upright position. It towered several dozen feet above them.

"They say a single touch of it's skin can kill you, just form the poisonous outer body it has." The old man explained, looking pretty grouchy. "But it's dead now, so let's get a move on. We don't have all day to be wasting."

And with that, Clyde returned to his seat behind the front wheel of the magic vehicle, attaching the cuff to his arm. It seemed his lunch was over.

Levy had so many other questions about this mysterious monster that had apparently been roaming the desert. What exactly was it? How long had the species existed? Where did these legends come from? Though she doubted Clyde knew or would be willing to share all those answers anyways. One of the downsides to working for him.

Gajeel, of course, was a little disappointed he hadn't gotten to kill it. Would have been a nice story to tell back at the guild for bragging rights. And another tally on the number of monsters he'd taken down. He couldn't fall behind the Salamander, lest his reputation for being that tough guy fade to nothing.

Levy and Gajeel shared a look, before sighing and grabbing their things to be ready for departure. If they waited too long, Clyde would simply leave them behind.


End file.
